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AFU snipers trained by foreign instructors redeployed to Donetsk region / DONi News / March 7, 2018 / The group of Ukrainian snipers trained by British and American instructors arrived in the area near Donetsk western border to carry out assignments, reports the DPR Operational Command’s Vice-Commander, Eduard Basurin. “In the Krasnogorovka locality’s area arrival of three snipers couples from separate reconnaissance battalion, armed with sniper rifles, provided by the US, was detected,” said the Vice-Commander. It is planned that they will carry out assignments together with units of the special operations forces of Ukraine. It should be reminded that recently civilian citizens, particularly, public utilities’ employees, were repeatedly coming under Ukrainian gunmen’s fire. The latest sniper attacks were reported on March 5th – a few hours after the indefinite ceasefire came into effect in Donbass.

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Ukrainian forces shell DPR with two dozen rounds over past 24 hours – JCCC / DAN / March 8, 2018 / Ukrainian forces fired two dozen rounds of ammunition at Donetsk People’s Republic frontline areas over the past 24 hours, head of the DPR Mission to the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) Ruslan Yakubov said on Thursday. “Overall, Ukrainian army units expended 20 rounds of ammunition,” Yakubov said. The Staromikhailovka village in western Donetsk and the Yasinovataya town came under fire, he added. Earlier, the DPR Operations Command reported two ceasefire violations by Ukrainian army units over the past 24 hours. A comprehensive, durable and indefinite ceasefire came into effect in Donbass on March 5. The truce was brokered by the Contact Group in Minsk on March 2.

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Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 03/08/2018 / DONi News / March 8, 2018 / After a brief relative calm, the Ukrainian occupation forces again violated the agreement, once again jeopardizing the establishment of peace in Donbass. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy fired four 120-mm mortar shells onto the areas of Staromikhailovka and Yasinovataya settlements, grenade launchers and small arms were also applied. Yesterday, the Ukrainian militants committed yet another act of aggression against civilian objects. A civilian truck belonging to the municipal enterprise “Donbass Water” transported property through the city of Yasinovataya towards the Donetsk Filtering Station. At 11:40 am the vehicle was targeted with small arms from the Ukrainian fighters’ positions. As a result of the bombardment, the truck’s body was damaged. Fortunately, the driver was not injured. As it has already happened more than once, the Ukrainian terrorists saw what they wanted to see, and instead of a civilian truck they again imagined a vehicle carrying ammunition. In total for the past day, there were registered two violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian occupants. *** As we have repeatedly noted, the anti-constitutional law “On the reintegration of Donbass” has completely untied hands of the Ukrainian militants. We constantly receive information from residents of the Kiev-occupied territories on crimes against civilians. Recently, their number has been only growing. In the villages of Bogdanovka, Krasnogorovka, Verkhneye Zaitsevo, Gladosovo and Travnevoye, the Ukrainian occupants actively dismantle the houses left by the residents and use stolen property to improve their living conditions in dugouts as firewood and building materials. *** And now let’s turn to a bright note. On behalf of the Command of the Armed Forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic, I want to congratulate all the women of Donbass on the International Women’s Day! In particular, the female military personnel, who had come to defend their land in trying times. Dear women! I wish you to smile more, always feel loved, happy, most valuable, and to inspire us to great deeds. And I wish to raise children under the peaceful skies! —Vice-Commander of the DPR People’s Militia, Colonel Eduard Basurin, official translation by DONi News Agency

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Trump’s Kurt Volker promotes ethnic cleansing of the Donbass / By Joaqin Flores / Fort Russ / March 8, 2018 / Special Representative of the US State Department on Ukraine Kurt Volker, made some comments that reflect the US’s overall propensity to ignore international treaties and international law, during a panel discussion at the Hudson Institute. In comments contrary to the letter and spirit of the Minsk II Agreement, he said that the DPR and the LPR should be eliminated. He based his lacking opinion, which exists outside of rational interpretation of contract law, in some thought that they not comply with the Constitution of Ukraine. Those familiar with the language of the Minsk Agreement know that it recognizes the DPR and LPR and in fact calls for constitutional changes, which to date has not been carried out by Ukraine. Ukraine lost the right to its present constitution and former territorial boundaries at the Battle of Debaltseve, waged between January 17th and Feburary 20th, 2015, and this was memorialized in the language of the Minsk II Agreement that also served as a cease-fire, which established the present line of contact. Shocking global audiences, Volker said: “The so-called Lugansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic are the entities created by Russia with the aim of generating in place of political reality in order to help disguise the role of the Russian Federation and to strengthen the ongoing conflict, and they must be eliminated,” “There is no place for them in the Ukrainian constitutional order. The Minsk agreements are aimed at restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and these entities must disappear,” the US special envoy stressed. Volker proposes instead that a ‘UN peacekeeping force’ be established – naturally consisting of NATO and US forces. How exactly will this commandment that the DPR and LPR must suddenly ‘cease’ to exist, come about? This seems contrary to the fact that these governments already have a monopoly on the use of force, as established at the Battle of Debaltsevo. Of course the only answer is – to relaunch the war, full bore. As was the case last time, this saw the ethnic cleansing of the whole region, with countless scores, perhaps even hundreds of thousands killed, and over a million internally displaced, and a million more who fled to Russia. In terms of calculating the deceased, it is difficult to trust either US or Russian figures, as both sides had different reasons for wanting to downplay the cost of this conflict in terms of civilian lives. But the reality is: the Minsk Agreement specifically calls for . . . READ MORE>>[Substantial analysis at source]

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Kremlin: International missions in Donbass impossible without agreement with republics / TASS / March 6, 2018 / Russia’s position on deploying international missions in Eastern Ukraine remains unchanged, it is impossible without the consent of the republics of Donbass, according to Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Russia’s stance is absolutely unwavering and known. The main idea here is that it is impossible to make any decisions about the deployment of international missions without negotiations and without reaching an agreement or consensus with the representatives of the Donbass republics,” Peskov explained. Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the end of February after talks with Austrian Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, that Russia is ready to work on a settlement in Ukraine, but steps are needed from all sides. In particular, he noted that “there are talks about putting all this territory under international control,” and Russia is not against it, “but it is necessary to negotiate with the unrecognized republics.” Putin recalled that during the discussion of the UN defense mission presence in the conflict zone in Ukraine, Russia supported the resolution, supporting the need to ensure the safety of OSCE observers on the contact line between Ukraine and the republics. Quemado Institute comments: That Putin supports “international missions” in Donbass is another example of his betrayal of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, of the militias that fought for freedom, and of the people who voted for independence. It is not enough for Putin to say the Republics must agree to an international mission. The Russian President should never advocate any kind of foreign involvement. As a matter of fact, Donbass is none of Putin’s business. For more on the Russian leader’s betrayal of the Donbass Republics, see https://quemadoinstitute.org/2017/09/06/putin-a-neocon-hawk-on-donbass-barely-better-than-john-mccain/ andhttps://quemadoinstitute.org/2017/02/14/if-putin-died-tonight-novorossiya-could-fight-again/

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SPECIAL COMMENTARY: Russell Bentley’s letter to the American people / Sott.net (From Russel Bentley Blog) / March 5, 2018 / To My Family and Friends, and All Good People of the USA, You may not know it yet, but the world changed on March 1st, 2018, an old era was ended, and a new era begun. In very great part, the meaning of this new era is up to you. On that historic day, Vladimir Putin revealed to the world that the US military is now obsolete, and no longer capable of “projecting power”, committing war crimes, or intimidating and destroying smaller nations around the world. That day has ended forever, one way or another. The US military is still completely capable of the mission it needs and deserves to do, which is to defend the territory and people of the United States of America. You are safe. There is no threat. But the days of your government threatening and destroying other countries is over. I hope you understand this.

Putin’s revelation of Russia’s game-changing weapons, against which the US military is literally defenseless, is not a threat or a bluff. Only liars and fools speak of “Russian aggression”, and the stupidity of anyone who says or believes “Putin is bluffing” is beyond measure. Russia’s weapons are real, and the US military industrial complex (that Dwight Eisenhower warned about 57 years ago) has absolutely no defense against them. In spite of plundering and squandering literally trillions of dollars from the US treasury and the American People in the name of “defense”, they are defenseless. Russia’s new weapons present no threat to the American People, unless you allow the people who own and control your government to to start a world war and force the Russians to use them. But if you do allow that to happen, the American people will get exactly what the “good Germans” got in 1945. And you will deserve it, just as much as they did. For the exact same reasons.

Russia is not your enemy. We seek only cooperation for the mutual benefit of all Mankind. But since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990, 28 years ago, the USA, NATO and the EU have sought to plunder and rule the world. They have been the enemies, the enslavers, the destroyers of the world. No reality based person can dispute that fact. There is no place that the US or NATO has gone into in the last 4 decades that is better off. Not one. In fact, there is no place that NATO or the US have intervened, (usually against international law) that hasn’t become a failed state, hell on Earth for the citizens, and a genuine danger to the surrounding regions and the world. It is the US government and NATO, and the people who own and control them, who are the threats and the enemies to the future of Humanity. But their days of disregarding international law and destroying weaker nations with impunity are now over, as of March 1st, 2018.

The good people of America now have a huge opportunity, and a huge challenge. Russia spends less than one tenth what the USA spends on military and defense, but their military and weapons are superior in every measurable way. The waste, corruption and abject venality of the US military industrial complex has wasted trillions on weapon systems that are now literally useless, and which have left the US military (and by extension the American people) defenseless before the power of Russia’s weapons, which are designed and produced to be effective rather than profitable. The opportunity is this – the USA can now reduce its military spending (the highest in the world) by 90% and still be safer than you are right now, spending almost a trillion dollars a year on useless weapons and a defenseless military. Safer, because as soon as the American People take control of their government enough to reduce your spending to ONLY as much as Russia spends, Russia will stop having reason to see the USA as an existential threat. The less you spend, the safer you will be. The more you spend, the more likely World War Three, which will see you as the instigators and the losers. This gives the USA, starting as soon as you want, an extra $800 billion, per year, to spend on things that have actual worth, things you really need. Health care, free college education, fixing the rotting economy and infrastructure that are daily becoming more of a threat to the American people than Russia has ever been.

Your challenge is that you must root out an entrenched and ruthless kleptocracy, built on deceit and oppression, and which is bent on war, and will stop at nothing to cling to its power. It is a huge task, an historic task, but in it lies your only hope. These parasites must be stopped, and if the American People are not up to the challenge, if they fail in their historic mission, they will leave it to the armies of the world, led by Russia, who will no longer tolerate those who want to rule the world. Your rulers are leading you to a war you cannot win, a war from which you, your families and your nation, and perhaps the world, will never recover. If the American People do not prevent their rulers from starting World War Three, there will be war. Peace and prosperity or death and desolation. These are your only choices, and now is the time to make your choice and act accordingly.

An annual windfall of $800 billion is yours for the taking, if you have the wisdom, courage and determination to take it back from the charlatans and scammers who have been robbing and wasting your trillions for years. Already these vermin claim the only possible solution is to give them even more money, as if those who fail when they out-spend their competitors ten to one might succeed by spending twenty to one. At some point, the host must rid itself of its parasites, or risk being bled dry.

When the American People stand up to their oppressors, rid themselves of their parasites, the people of Russia and of the world will stand with you, will applaud and support you. All good people in the world are on the same side. Those who oppress and exploit you do the same to us. Your enemies are our enemies, and ours are yours. Stand up, as we have, throw off your chains and illusions, see for yourself who your real enemies are, and together let’s defeat them, before they destroy the world and all that is good in it. Only you can stop them without a global war. If you don’t, there will be war, and we will stop them. But those who live in the USA will suffer the fate of those who start and lose a world war. It is not a fate to be desired.

America, that time has now come for you. The choice is stark and clear, and you must make it soon. Either bring your rulers to heel, stop the war they are bent on starting, and reap the benefits of stopping the most egregious and wasteful scam in history, or do nothing, allow your parasites to consume you, and let them lead you and your children and your nation to Armageddon and a fiery death in a war that you now know you can never win. The choice is yours. And so is the responsibility.

Russell “Texas” Bentley has resided in Donetsk since December 2014. From January to June 2015, he was a soldier in the Essence of Time combat unit of the Novorussian Armed Forces (NAF). He served at the Donetsk airport and Spartak as a rifleman and RPG gunner. “The war in Donbass is only one Front in a global war. Fascism has again raised its ugly head, and we are here to fight and defeat it. Truth is one of our most powerful weapons, and my job is to get the truth to the people of the Western world.”

Quemado Institute Comments: Russel Bentley is a Donbass fighter we celebrate and support. In his letter, he recognizes it is not just the US that destroys global peace, but also NATO, the EU, and their “owners”, whom we infer to be the American, European and Zionist financial elite. So far so good. We believe people who oppose the globalists should be unified in their efforts, and Bentley strives for this. But discussion is needed, and he may be mistaken on several points.

Bentley claims, “the US military is … no longer capable of … committing war crimes, or intimidating and destroying smaller nations around the world.” No, unfortunately, the US is still quite capable of destroying smaller nations. In fact, I predict American-EU-NATO intimidation and destruction will continue for some time. This is because Putin’s weapons are so powerful, they can’t be used without starting WWIII, which the Russian President is smart enough to avoid. It is also true that the Global Financial Elite has huge influence in the Kremlin, and Putin is to a large extent politically impotent.

Bentley adds, “The US military is still completely capable of [defending] the territory and people of the United States of America.” Is it? Maybe not. If the Western elite provoked Russia into full-scale attack, America might be wiped out. Isn’t that Putin’s point? Bentley continues, “The stupidity of anyone who says or believes Putin is bluffing is beyond measure. ” Well, excuse me, but I believe Putin is bluffing—not about the power of his weapons, but about his will to use them. I base this on the Russian President’s cowardly betrayal of Donbass, and on his many threats over the last few years, none of which have materialized. The problem with Putin’s weapons is, he can’t use them without in turn destroying Russia. Before issuing military threats, he should first take diplomatic steps, like standing up for Novorossiya, recognizing the DPR and LPR as independent nations, and ceasing to appease Poroshenko and Angela Merkel. Only then will the West take Vladimir Putin seriously.

Bentley is also naive about the $800 billion US military budget, which is de facto white collar welfare, and which people depend on for their incomes. I estimate, based on my own former career at Raytheon and Fort Huachuca, that some 90% of military-industrial professionals actually do nothing at all. They goof off at their desks all day, fill out forms and go to meetings. None of this strengthens the US military. I doubt Putin sees the US defense budget as an existential threat. What he may see as the existential threat is the blustering bravado and bull-headed stupidity of US-EU globalist-backed politicians, who seemed hell bent on forcing war, whether capable of fighting one or not.

Bentley urges the American people to take control of our government. Sorry. We gave it our all by electing Trump. Now Trump has fallen prey to the deep-state globalist elite, whose roots lie in Europe and Zion. The American people have little if any power to stop this globalist monster, which has woven its tendrils into the Kremlin itself, and also has deep ties to China.

Good luck with that Bentley. The problem is deeper than even you imagine. Still, with all due respect, we at Quemado Institute thank you for putting your life on the line, for fighting with the Novorossya Armed Forces, and for reporting the truth about Donbass.

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The Real News and Truth about Donetsk Peoples Republic, Lugansk Peoples Republic / Donbassinform.com / Truth about Ukraine facists murdering Donbass civilians news outlet / About us: Welcome. This web site has been opened to show the truth about the Repression of the Russian Speaking areas of Donetsk Peoples Republic and Lugansk Peoples Republic. Their was no Russian invasion. The Donbass people tired of 20 years repression by Kiev. How I know. I lived in Lugansk 11 years and saw it for myself. We dont want war, we want Peace and safety. I just ask you go through some of the videos and decide for yourself. Not Propaganda by controlled Western Media. I ask you watch at least 2 videos on the video page with open mind. One is the video by Russell “Texas” Bentley and then The Truth about Ukraine. As I just started this site tons more stuff to come. I am not a journalist or writer so there will be bad grammer etc. I will answer questions if sent to me. Thank You. Donbass International News Agency: The link to this very fine News Organization is working on . . . READ MORE>>

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Sunday, December 24, 2017Special Christmas Edition(Full Report)

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Baleriya Arlentina on Twitter
December 23, 2017“This is christmas tree in the central square of Donetsk (Lenin’s square). It was finally decorated at December 22.”

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Click for VIDEO.

Donbass, December 24th, 2017 – VIDEO / Anna News / December 24, 2017 / The newscaster: Victoria Rakhmanina / In the morning the Armed Forces of Ukraine have opened mortar fire on the village Veseloe in the northern suburbs of Donetsk. In violation of the New Year armistice, Kiev forces shelled the positions of the People’s Militia near villages Frunze and Kalinovka. The fire was opened from mortars, antiaircraft guns, grenade launchers and small arms. The Ukrainian side, in spite of the agreements reached on the observance of the ceasefire regime, continues to strengthen the fire impact along the contact line. The Ukrainian fighters opened fire on the settlements Dokuchaevsk and Spartak from the infantry fighting vehicle, the representative of the command of the DPR said. Specialists from Germany and France are going to act as intermediaries for the return of Russian officers to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the ceasefire in Donbass, the representative of the German government, Georg Streiter said. Four civilians and one soldier were killed, 7 civilians and 4 soldiers were injured in the DPR for this week, a representative of the Ombudsman’s office of the DPR said. In order to Implement the decision of the Tripartite Contact Group in Minsk on a ceasefire from midnight on the 23rd of December, 2017, all divisions of the Donetsk People’s Republic have been informed of order of the head of the department of the Peoples’ Militia, “On observance of the ceasefire” during the “New Year” armistice”.

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Alexander Zakharchenko

Alexander Zakharchenko sets tasks before country’s cities and regions’ heads / DONi News / December 24, 2017 / The Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic held a working meeting with the heads of cities and districts on December 22. The meeting was devoted to the main results of field work in 2017. Alexander Zakharchenko also set tasks and determined the main directions of the municipal authorities’ work in the coming year. “The past year was not an easy one. To sum up, it should be noted that much has been accomplished. First of all, the main issues related to the improvement of cities have been solved. I believe that this work was carried out very good. A great many visitors coming to the DPR note the beauty of our cities, improvement of public services, the work of green buildings. However, there are moments that require more detailed work. Firstly, it is the organization of the work of public services. It is necessary to improve the efficiency of our utilities. Pay attention to the readiness of all bomb shelters. The war is ongoing, and we must be ready for anything. People should know . . . READ MORE>>

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DPR Head instructs mayors to check, prepare all bomb shelters in Republic / DONi Press / December 23, 2017 / Heads of cities and districts of the Donetsk People’s Republic in the near future should make an inventory of bomb shelters and provide them with everything necessary in case of shelling. This order was given today by the Head of the Republic Alexander Zakharchenko at a meeting with the heads of local administrations. “Each of you must take the bomb shelters that you have in the settlement under personal control. I am instructing that in the near future an inventory of all bomb shelters must be made. They must have round the clock free access and equipped with everything necessary so that people can sit there while shelling,” Zakharchenko said, addressing the heads of administrations. Notably, the meeting was attended by the heads of administrations of all cities and districts of the Donetsk People’s Republic.

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Click for VIDEO.

US-Backed Kiev Tanks Advance on Civilians in SE Ukraine (Donbass) – VIDEO / Marine1063 (YouTube) / Published December 23, 2017 / Yesterday morning (Dec 19, 2017) a large column of tanks moved to Donbass. According to witnesses, they stopped on the road and waited for an additional approach of the tanks. A witness said he managed to talk with drivers of tractors. They said that tanks were going to Donbass. At night, Ukrainian forces opened fire on the village Dolomitnoe in the north of Gorlovka from the Multiple launch rocket systems “Grad”, the deputy commander of the operational command of the DPR Eduard Basurin said. On the 19th of December, Kiev forces shelled Pervomaysk from artillery guns. As a result of the bombardment, the houses and infrastructure facilities were damaged. In violation of the Minsk agreements, the soldiers of the AFU placed self-propelled artillery guns near the contact line, 2 units in the settlement Katerinovka and 6 units in the village Krasny Pakhar, the official representative of the LPR Andrey Marochko reported. He said this weaponry is used to fire at the settlements of the Republic and positions of the People’s Militia during the night. As a result of artillery fire from the positions of the AFU, nearly 40 houses and infrastructure facilities in Stakhanov and Pervomaisk were damaged, 7394 subscribers remain without electricity. Representatives of the Special Monitoring Mission significantly reduced the number of patrols monitoring along the contact line, that does not allow to objectively assess compliance with the regime of ceasefire by the AFU,” Andrey Marochko reported. He said in today’s report there is no information about the destruction and casualties among the civilian population as a result of the shelling of the AFU in the settlements of the LPR.”

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Ukrainian military yet again violates ceasefire in the Donetsk Republic / By Paul Antonopoulos / Fort Russ / December 23, 2017 / DONETSK, Novorossia / The Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) operations command staff said on Saturday that Ukrainian military units have broken the ceasefire and continue to shell populated areas of the republic. “In spite of the agreements on observing ceasefire, Ukrainian army units delivered fire from firearms and automatic grenade-launchers at the areas adjoining the town of Yasinovataya as of midnight,” the Donetsk News Agency quoted a spokesman for the staff. “The use of mortars of different calibers by the enemy was recorded in the area of the township of Golmosvsky near Gorlovka,” it said. At the beginning of the new academic year, the ceasefire was established in Donbass. This became known as the “the school truce.”

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Yasinovataya, Donetsk Oblast, March 6, 2017: House damaged in shelling by Ukrainian Government troops. (–Alexander Kravchenko/TASS)

Donetsk republic reports violations of truce by Ukrainian army hours after its declaration / TASS / December 23, 2017 / Pro-Kiev armed units have ignored the agreements on a New Year truce and have continued the shelling of populated localities in the self-proclaimed unrecognized Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR], the republic’s operations command staff said on Saturday. “In spite of the agreements on observing ceasefire, Ukrainian army units delivered fire from firearms and automatic grenade-launchers at the areas adjoining the town of Yasinovataya as of midnight,” the Donetsk News Agency quoted a spokesman for the staff. “The use of mortars of different calibers by the enemy was recorded in the area of the township of Golmosvsky near Gorlovka,” it said. Ceasefire established for the beginning of a new academic year was formally in effect in Donbass as of August 25. It was broadly called ‘the school truce’. The arrangement helped reduce tensions along the Line of Contact at first but the intensity of shelling increased again afterwards. On December 20, members of the Ukraine contact group in charge of defusing the armed civil conflict in eastern Ukraine reached a yet another agreement on declaring ceasefire. The latter took effect at 00:00 hours East European Time on December 23.

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Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 12/24/2017 / DONi News / December 24, 2017 / Over the past 24 hours, in the Donetsk direction the enemy launched 10 mortar-shells of 82mm caliber and conducted fire at the areas of four localities with grenade launchers and small arms. As we can see, in the first 24 hours of the New Year ceasefire the Ukrainian side clearly showed that it hadn’t planned to comply with the ceasefire. At present, we are considering two versions explaining this behavior of our enemy: The first is that the platoon-company junior level commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who are on the front line, either are unable to control their units, or personally, persecuting their goals, give orders to use weapons in the direction of our Republic. And the second one is that those illegal armed groupings such as the Ukrainian Volunteer Army and Right Sector who are on the front line refused to comply with the orders of the “ATO” headquarters to comply with the ceasefire. Unfortunately, we have to state the fact that the officers of the Ukrainian side to the JCCC failed to fulfill their functional duties. Instead of objectively and impartially recording violations of the ceasefire by the AFU, these officials, not giving a damn about their conscience and officer’s honor, deny and turn . . . READ MORE>>

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Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 12/23/2017 / DONi News / December 23, 2017 / The situation in the Donetsk People’s Republic remains tense. In the Donetsk direction, eight artillery projectiles of 122-mm calibre, 140 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres were launched by the enemy on ten localities and the surrounding areas; the enemy also resorted to guided anti-tank rockets, various grenade launchers and small arms. In the Gorlovka direction, the areas of two localities – Verkhnetoretskoye and Zaitsevo – were targeted from armoured personnel carriers, small arms, grenade launchers. In the Mariupol direction, AFU units targeted the settlements of Sosnovskoye and Leninskoye with 21 mortar shells of 120-mm calibre.

In total, before the start of the New Year’s truce, 23 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. Taking advantage of the truce, the enemy continued carrying out measures to strengthen its units in the so-called ‘ATO’ zone. In particular, our reconnaissance noted the transfer to the responsibility zone of the 128 separate mountain infantry brigade of the three additional MRLS Grad units and up to 100 personnel from among the Ukrainian volunteer corps Right Sector. Also, a battalion of the 79 separate airborne assault brigade of the AFU arrived in the zone of responsibility of the 59 motorized brigade. After the start of the New Year armistice, the intensity of the shelling by the AFU units decreased. Without abandoning unsuccessful attempts to provoke us to reciprocal fire, the enemy fired at our positions, using mortars, small arms and automatic grenade launchers. I want to emphasize that all units of the People’s Militia have received the order on the inadmissibility of responding to this kind of provocation and unquestioningly follow the order of the Command. –Vice-Commander of the DPR People’s Militia, Colonel Eduard Basurin, official translation by DONi News Agency

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Alexander Zakharchenko hands posthumous award to relatives of deceased power engineer / DONi News / December 23, 2017 / On December 22, the Head of the Republic posthumously awarded Pavel Gritsienko, the head of the Yasinovataya power distribution zone, who died this year at the workplace, the Order of the Republic. The honourable state award was presented to the parents and the son of the deceased. The Order was awarded for special services to the Donetsk People’s Republic, the courage shown in the performance of official duties. “Keep this award with honour!” the Head of State appealed to Gritsienko junior. “Many thanks to the parents for such a son. This is a huge loss, and there are no words to calm down. But the man who gave his life in the service of duty is a real hero. The state is proud of such citizens as Pavel. Despite the fact that the job of a power engineer is one of the most peaceful professions, unfortunately, in our wartime they risk lives, too” the Head of the Republic Alexander Zakharchenko said to the relatives of Pavel Gritsienko. Pavel Gritsenko was killed on October 4 in a ruprure of the ammunition while inspecting the site of restoration works damaged during the attack on the power lines. Source: Official web-site of the DPR Head Alexander Zakharchenko; Official translation by DONi News Agency

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Maurice Schleepen on Twitter
December 23, 2017
“DPR/LPR intelligence: In late November early December Ukraine regime
transferred in the front-line direction about 430 armoured vehicles,
130 Rocket launchers & large armed formations. Also TOCHKA-U &
systems of Mass destruction DONCHAN moved closer to the gray zone. #Donbass.”

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Shelling in Donetsk has become routine: shattered windows, broken walls and roofs / Essence of Time / December 23, 2017 / The tension of the civil war in Donbass never de-escalates even for a day, despite the regularly announced ceasefires, a source in the People’s Militia of the Donetsk People’s Republic told a correspondent of the Rossa Primavera Information Agency on 21 December. Daily summaries issued by the DPR’s mission to the Joint Control and Coordination Center for Ceasefire (JCCC) reporting up to 50 violations of the Minsk agreements committed by the Ukrainian side have long become routine. The Ukrainian side uses all available weapon types available to attack, from small arms to heavy artillery. The number of shells launched by the Ukrainian dogs of war against the residents of the Republic runs in the hundreds. In contrast to 2014, the frontline area receives the brunt of the shelling, while Grad MLRSs are used very rarely. Occasionally, Donetsk is also hit, mostly Kuybyshevsky district. The frontline towns and villages suffer badly; people have no electricity or gas for hours; more residential buildings are damaged every day: roofs are broken, windows are shattered, and walls are broken. Every day more civilians are wounded, often killed. From time to time, the Donetsk water filtration plant is damaged, which supplies water to Donetsk, Yasinovataya, and a number of settlements nearby, including Avdeevka, which is under Kiev’s control.

In late November, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Arsen Avakov, said that the Minsk agreements were dead; his assistant, Gerashchenko, went a step further. On the air of the Ukrainian Channel 5 he admitted that Kiev never intended to fulfil these agreements, and that Poroshenko, when he signed them, “simply deceived the Russian Federation”. Gerashchenko did not explain whether the Ukrainian President was doing this in collusion with the leaders of France and Germany. Noteworthy is also the strange relations between the Ukrainian side and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. Oftentimes, the Ukrainian military does not allow the Mission’s patrols to enter objects of interest, as it happened in the settlements of Gladosovo and Travnevoe, which militants from the Aidar battalion occupied in the early hours of November 22. The very fact of deploying armed forces to these settlements was a gross violation of the agreements, because they are located in the “gray” zone (the area that separates the warring parties which must be clear of any armed people). According to witness reports, these settlements are now close to a humanitarian crisis. Aidar blocked not only the SMM’s patrol but also the Red Cross with humanitarian aid. It is telling that both the Red Cross and the SMM demonstrated inappropriate patience, and they did not make noise over this fact.

OSCE patrols have demonstrated a surprising ability to ignore Ukrainian heavy weapons in places where they must not be located, and to remain unaware of the direction of fire when towns and villages are shelled. The Russian and DPR missions to the JCCC have repeatedly forced the OSCE patrol to rewrite the expert findings on episodes of shelling to make them consistent with the actual situation. Editorial comment by Essence of Time: People who have become accustomed to regular shelling often just ignore the sounds of shells exploding. A situation when explosions and shooting sound afar while old ladies keep tattling at their door next to playing kids, which seems absolutely bizarre to anyone living in Russia, has become common in Donbass.

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The Silent War in the Donbas: Frontline Accounts of Volunteers Fighting in the Trenches
VIDEO by Vesti News
Published December 23, 2017Click for video. (27 minutes)
A special report by Alexander Rogatkin:
“Donbas frontline chords.” A silent war in the south-west of Ukraine.

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Vladimir Klitschko (–AFP/ Timothy A Clary//Getty Images)

Klitschko comes to his senses – calls to end Donbass conflict / Fort Russ / December 24, 2017 / Former world boxing champion Vladimir Klitschko said he was confident that relations between Russia and Ukraine would soon improve. “I am convinced that the relations between our countries will soon improve, and after that many will ask themselves how it could have reached such a point that fraternal peoples were at war,” he said. The athlete explained that currently Ukraine is in the phase of formation, and expressed the hope that the economy will begin to grow. “We just need to stop shooting in the east. They say very correctly: A bad peace is better than a good war,” Klitschko added. Klitschko, in his political capacity as Mayor of Kiev, has in the past called Donbass residents “separatists” and urged for conflict in the region.

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Heather Nauert (–AP /Alex Brandon)

US takes decision to supply lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine / TASS / December 23, 2017 / At the time of reporting, TASS did not have an answer from the Pentagon to a question on what specifically the U.S. was going to supply to Ukraine from now on, / WASHINGTON / The U.S. Administration has taken a decision to supply advanced defensive systems to Ukraine as part of Washington’s efforts to build up the long-term defense capability of the Ukrainian government, the Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert said on Friday. “The United States has decided to provide Ukraine enhanced defensive capabilities as part of our effort to help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity, to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to deter further aggression,” Nauert said. “U.S. assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself,” she claimed. “The United States remains committed to the Minsk agreements as the way forward in eastern Ukraine.”

At the time of reporting, TASS did not have an answer from the Pentagon to a question on what specifically the U.S. was going to supply to Ukraine from now on. ABC News said previously President Trump was expected to endorse a plan envisioning supplies of antitank equipment worth $47 million to the Ukrainian authorities. The list of weapons to be consigned to Ukraine might include the Javelin antitank complexes. If Trump approves the plan, it will then be submitted to Congress that will have thirty days to review it. U.S. Congressmen and Senators, republicans and democrats likewise, have persistently voted in recent years for inclusion of articles on lethal military aid to Ukraine in the U.S. defense budgets. In the light of it, the lawmakers will most likely have no objections to Trump’s latest defense initiative regarding Ukraine. QI Editor’s Note: Amin Dada tweeted in response to this article: “Considering LNR-DPR shall recuperate most of the weapons, US furnishing could be seen as a good opportunity to run Novorossia to the Transcarpathians ;)”

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Sergei S. on Twitter(In response to AP article on US weapons to Ukraine)
“Trump is just making a political move.
It’s part of his game with Democrats.
This will change nothing on the ground in Donbass.”(US soldiers march along main Khreshchatyk Street during a military parade to celebrate Independence Day in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. –Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

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Malinka on Twitter
December 23, 2017
“US AtlanticCouncil useful idiots at BC, who spent 3 years & AC’s funds trying
to prove Donbass couldn’t recapture its weapons from Ukraine, now worried sick
that new US, Canada weapons could finish up in hands of LPR, DPR … and Russia!”Click to enlarge.

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David Kaye (–Japan Times)

Media: UN official finds no freedom of speech in Ukraine / Essence of Time / December 23, 2017 / Kiev’s bans of television channels broadcasting in Russian violate the international human rights law on access to information, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, David Kaye said in an interview on December 22, RIA Novosti reports. In particular, Kaye said that, generally speaking, this is of course a deprivation of freedom, because in terms of human rights law every person has the right to access any kind of ideas and information, either true or not. Giving an assessment to the situation with freedom of speech in Ukraine, he added that he was not familiar with the situation in Ukraine well enough to give a specific opinion; but generally, the authorities should not choose the path of banning or restricting media operations. Since 2014, over 70 Russian channels and about 600 Russian-made films and TV series were banned in Ukraine. In October 2017, the Verkhovnaya Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian Parliament) passed a law that raised the quota of the Ukrainian language on TV. According to the law, at least 75% of TV broadcasting must be in Ukrainian. Editor’s note: See source for editorial comment.

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U.S. general to soldiers: War against Russia is coming / Essence of Time / December 23, 2017 / The United States Marine Corps general Robert Neller on December 23 told Norway-based U.S. marines about the upcoming war against Russia, RT reports. “I hope I’m wrong, but there’s a war coming. You’re in a fight here, an informational fight, a political fight, by your presence”, he said. Neller noted that in the nearest future Russia and the Pacific theater could become military conflict zones. The general also said that the number of marines stationed in Norway could be increased “to 3000 overnight”. Russia and China were named the two world powers that “challenge American power, influence, and interests, attempting to erode American security and prosperity” in the new National Security Strategy that was published by Trump administration on December 18. The head of Pentagon Jim Mattis said that the power of the U.S. army enables American diplomats to always speak from a “position of strength”. These events are occurring against the backdrop of the increasing military presence of US and NATO troops in the immediate vicinity of Russia’s borders: in the Baltic states, in the Nordic countries, in Poland. Aside from that, US missile defense systems are deployed in Eastern Europe. Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

A Tale of 2 Ukraines- Health Care in War-Torn Lugansk and Peaceful Kiev / By George Eliason / Washington’s Blog / December 21, 2017 / This is the story of two Ukraine’s, but it’s not the tired and typical before and after the coup tome. This is a side by side view of two Ukraine’s as they stand today in December 2017. Looking at it this way, you have to decide which Ukraine is the terrorist entity and which Ukraine works to save and better the lives of its people. You get to tell me which Ukraine would make a good partner for the US, Europe, Russia, and the rest of the world. Which Ukraine would you want for your neighbor or to come to that BBQ? For every story there has to be a backbone of facts it rides on, doesn’t there? And yet, despite a glut of facts, both you and the rest of the world are sometimes expected to ignore the grim realities and cozy up to the dysfunctional monsters of our time. And not just cuddle up but lean over and give em’ a big smooch too. Let’s look our Ukraine(s). One Ukraine is centered in Kiev. It has not been attacked by a foreign nation since WWII. It has received and squandered tens of billions of dollars in IMF loans and international support. More to the point, tens of billions in aid has been stolen and will never be repaid. The money will never be used for reforms or to rebuild the economy. Instead of starting the reforms that the aid was tied to, Poroshenko’s Ukraine has consistently and persistently lowered the standard of living for its own people. This Ukraine is a country that a failed state like Somalia can look down on today. This Ukraine led the world in some medical . . . READ MORE>>

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New Head of Board of Directors of Rosneft is former Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schroeder / Fort Russ / December 24, 2017 / Former Chancellor of Germany, Gerhard Schroeder told the Rheinische Post about his work at Rosneft, as well as his attitude towards Vladimir Putin. According to Schroeder, to chair the board of directors of a Russian oil firm is an “exciting task” and the money aspect here is not particularly important. “And what if I were on the board of directors of an American firm, not a Russian one – that criticism has some hypocrisy,” he said. Schroeder stressed that good relations with Rosneft and with Russia as a whole are in the interests of Europe, and Germany will eventually benefit from them. A journalist of Rheinische Post noted that Rosneft is under sanctions. Schroeder said in response that he was against them and that, in his opinion, they would eventually be lifted. The former chancellor also confirmed that he and Putin are friends. “Yes, we are, and will always be, I trust Vladimir Putin,” he said. Schroeder explained that the friendship implies the opportunity to share their opinions and express criticism, but only face to face. From the point of view of Schroeder, the rapprochement between Russia and Germany is impossible without Putin. “Managing Russia is not an easy task, rather you should proceed from the fact that after Putin – it will not be better.” One step to rapprochement could be the gradual lifting of sanctions” he explained. The fact that Schroeder will head the board of directors of Rosneft became known in September. The former Chancellor, in a conversation with journalists, stated that he was very pleased with this appointment.

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Saturday, December 2, 2017
(Brief Update)

Basurin confirms ATO withdrawal from occupied villages / Translated by Tom Winter (Novorosinform) for Fort Russ / December 2, 2017 / The Ministry of Defense of the Donetsk Peoples Republic has confirmed the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from the occupied villages. The Donetsk Peoples Republic completely controls the situation on the DPR contact line. This was stated by the deputy commander of the operational command of the Republic Eduard Basurin. “Our intelligence fully controls the situation on the sectors of the contact line where the threat of provocative actions (the seizure of territories in the “gray” zone) is being kept up by the AFU. Any attempt by the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to reduce the inter-positional space will end with unjustified losses for their units” the report said. Earlier, the press center of the headquarters of the “ATO” reported that the militants of the Aidar battalion of the 54th Brigade of the Armed Forces were forced to retreat from previously occupied villages in the DPR. It is known that they suffered serious losses and eventually left their positions, which they previously occupied near Gorlovka. Recall, yesterday morning, the headquarters of “ATO” reported on the progress of their depth into the DNR: ATO forces improved their tactical position on the Donetsk direction. This is stated in the message of the press center of the headquarters of the ATO on their page in Facebook.

The other day the deputy commander of the operational command of the Democratic Donetsk Peoples Republic Eduard Basurin said that the Ukrainian armed forces are preparing to seize two more settlements – Viktorovka and Staromarevka in the south of the Republic. Basurin noted that according to DPR intelligence, local administrations there are already conducting polls of residents of these settlements for the identification of free houses for the possible quartering of Ukrainian servicemen. We remind that on the night of November 22, Ukrainian armed forces, in particular the Nazi battalion Aidar, captured the village of Gladosovo near Gorlovka.

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Ukrainian army partially leaves seized villages – DPR Command / DONi News / December 2, 2017 / Part of the units of the Ukrainian security forces left the previously occupied villages in the neutral zone near Gorlovka, Vice-Commander of the Operational Command of the Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Badurin told journalists. Earlier, the DPR Command stated that the Ukrainian security forces, in violation of the Minsk agreements, occupied the settlements of Gladosovo and Travnevoye located in the neutral zone in the Gorlovsky district. The Ukrainian military confirmed this fact, assuring that they did not violate the Minsk agreements. “Our reconnaissance has fixed the withdrawal from the previously seized Gladosovo and Travnevoye of separate Aidar units to fill the irretrievable losses. Minor forces continue to terrorize civilians,” Basurin said. According to him, as a result of squabbles between Ukrainian security forces in the occupied villages, 12 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and five were wounded. “Also, the Ukrainian party actively continues to mine perimeters around occupied settlements, as a result of which a truck with AFU’s 128 brigade’s staff blew up yesterday on one of the mines. Three Ukrainian servicemen were killed from the explosion on the mine,” Basurin added.

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LPR Interior Minister: 2016 “Coup Attempt” In Republic Was Fabcricated / South Front / December 1, 2017 / The Minister of Internal Affairs of Luhansk People’s Republic Igor Kornet said that the 2016 attempted Luhansk coup was fabricated, and shed the light on the current situation in the Republic. The Minister commented on the situation in the Republic, by saying that the arrests of more than 50 people, including the Prosecutor General of LPR Vitaly Podobry, LPR’s military prosecutor Sergey Rakhno and their attendants on suspicion of collaborating with Ukraine, went “very well”. He said that the active phase of the operation was preceded by nearly year long counterterror operation dedicated to rooting out the Ukranian spy network in the republic. The operation led to “successful, bloodless” arrests, with the arrested testifying. Kornet promised to report on the results of the work in the following months.

Regarding the collaboration with Donetsk forces during the active phase of the operation, the minister said that the collaboration had started since the assassination of Oleg Anaschenko, Head of LPR People’s militia in February of 2017. After confirming that Donetsk military personnel and vehicles were helping with the operation, Kornet also revealed further plan to collaborate with Donetsk People’s Republic. Kornet called the 2016 attempted Luhansk coup “completely fabricated,” with the necessary criminal charges launched. He stressed that the “officials are as culpable as anyone,” with the law making no discrimination for social station. He assured that the criminal proceedings won’t turn into a “witch hunt,” with charges brought up only based on available evidence.

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Friday, December 1, 2017
(Brief Update)

Basurin: APU Has Begun Preparations for Seizure of Two Villages in Mariupol Direction / DNR-news.com / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 30, 2017 / The Ukrainian siloviki began preparations for the seizure of the villages of Viktorovka and Staromarevka in the Mariupol direction. This was announced today by the deputy commander of the operational command of the Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Basurin, referring to the intelligence. “The headquarters of the 28th separate mechanized brigade, on the orders of OGS commander Donetsk, Vishnevsky, is working on the reduction of the inter-position space between the APU and units of the VSD in the vicinity of the villages of Viktorovka and Staromarevka by seizing these settlements in the gray zone,” said Basurin. He also called on the world community to pay attention to the aggressive actions of the APU [Ukrainian Armed Forces]: “We call on the international community to resolutely condemn the actions of the Ukrainian authorities, and the observers of the OSCE CMM – to pay close attention to these two sections of the area,” added the deputy commander. [Editor’s note: The above article was posted on Twitter by Nahia Sanzo (November 30, 3017 11:30 UTC) with the comment, “Basurin claims Ukraine’s getting ready to capture 2 more towns in the gray zone (Mariupol area). He calls on the international comunity to pay attention. Seriously, how do they not realize the ‘international comunity’ couldn’t care less about what UAF does?” Further note: DONi News, in a similar report, adds the following: “We recall that since the adoption of the Package of Measures on implementation of the Minsk agreements (February 12, 2015), the Ukrainian Armed Forces regularly carry out seizures of the territory controlled by the DPR. Contrary to the peaceful plan, for almost three years after the enabling of the “Minsk-2″, the AFU took about ten settlements under their control. The last time the capture took place in the night of November 22, 2017, when the Ukrainian military occupied the villages of Gladosovo and Metallist (in Ukraine called Travnevoye) in the Gorlovka area. The Kiev forces immediately deployed to the village armament and began positions’ enhancing. At a meeting of the Contact Group on November 29, the issue of unauthorized seizure of territories by Kiev was raised. A proper international response has not yet followed.”]

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Donetsk Defense: Weekly Situation Report, 12/01/2017 / DONi News / December 1, 2017 / EXCERPTS: Last week, the preparation of weapons and military equipment for operation in winter conditions was completed in the formations and military units of the DPR Armed Forces, the qualitative preparation of the training and material base, as well as landfill equipment, was carried out. The units of the DPR Armed Forces are ready for a new academic year. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy fired 71 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibre on ten localities, as well as resorted to grenade launchers and small arms. In the Mariupol direction, the AFU attacked four localities, having launched 19 mortar rounds of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres on the settlements. In the Gorlovka direction, the enemy attacked three localities from grenade launchers and small arms. In total, over the past 24 hours, 29 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. . . . This week the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Avakov made a statement that “Minsk agreements do not work, and it’s time to change them to others.” It’s strange that some Minister of the Interior starts to creep into the sphere of activity which he is not in charge of. It seems that with this statement Avakov makes it clear to the president of Ukraine that he intends to seize the initiative with the subsequent replacement of Poroshenko on the presidential chair. . . . Currently, in the villages of Gladosovo and Travnevoye, occupied by the AFU, the intensification of the humanitarian catastrophe is noted. Residents are deprived of the opportunity to import coal, fuel for generators, and food. All this time the villagers stay without electricity. At the same time, the power supply had been violated by Ukrainian punishers purposefully a few days before the occupation of the settlements. At present, the Ukrainian party does not make any efforts to restore the supply of electricity, despite the fact that we continue daily to declare our readiness to provide all necessary security guarantees for the restoration work. Simultaneously, to prevent the opening of facts of bullying of civilians and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation, the Ukrainian party is taking all measures to prohibit access to the settlements, occupied by the AFU, for international observers of the UN, OSCE, ICRC. Arguments for banning the entry of observers are threats to their lives through systematic shelling and mining the roads by Ukrainian law enforcers. The influx of Ukrainian media into the settlements in order to prepare fake stories aimed at justifying the criminal actions of the AFU is noted. Unfortunately, all the help remains only in the picture, outside of it there is only terror and the excesses of the punishers in relation to civilians! . . . READ FULL REPORT>>

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Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 11/30/2017 / DONi News / November 30, 2017 / The situation on the contact line remains unchanged. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy fired eight artillery ordnances of 122-mm calibre, 51 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibre on 16 localities, as well as resorted to grenade launchers and small arms. In the Mariupol direction, the AFU attacked the locality of Leninskoye, having launched 19 mortar rounds of 120-mm calibre on the settlement. In the Gorlovka direction, the enemy fired attacked three settlements with grenade launchers and small arms, having also launched 31 mortar rounds of 120-mm and 82-mm calibers. In total, over the past 24 hours, 20 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded.

Our reconnaissance has revealed the AFU’s preparing for a provocation, grossly violating the Minsk agreements. In particular, the headquarters of the 28 smb on the orders of Vishnevsky, the commander of the Donetsk task force, is working on the issue of reducing the inter-position space between the AFU and the units of the DPR Armed Forces in the vicinity of the settlements of Viktorovka and Staromariyevka by capturing these settlements in the “gray zone”. According to local residents of Staromariyevka, the Granitnoye Town Council (under the control of the AFU) is conducting a survey of residents to identify citizens loyal to the regime, as well as the establishment through them the availability of free houses for the possibility of resettlement of the AFU. We regard such actions in the vicinity of Staromariyevka as a distracting maneuver for an armed capture of peaceful civilians of Viktorovka village, which is located near the settlement of Petrovskoye. We call on the international community to resolutely condemn the Ukrainian authorities’ actions. And the observers of the OSCE SMM should pay close attention to these two sites, mostly to the area near Petrovskoye, where Viktorovka settlement is located. At present, the AFU punishers jeopardise the lives and health of civilians living in settlements in the “buffer zone”. The inaction . . . READ MORE>>

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DPR activists pass documents on almost 500 Ukrainian war crimes in Donbass to ICC / DAN-news.info / December 1, 2017 / DONETSK / The DPR public committee for registering Ukrainian authorities’ war crimes has passed evidence on 489 people killed and wounded as the result of Ukrainian army offensive in Donbass to the International Criminal Court in The Hague since mid-2015, said the committee’s member Elena Shishkina. “Since the start of our work, we have passed files on 489 casualties, including 352 adults and 137 minors,” she said. In November, the committee passed evidence on 33 cases, covering 21 deaths and 31 injured persons. The public committee on recording Kiev forces war crimes was launched in mid-2015. Criminal and law experts aim to gather data on the crimes the Ukrainian armed forces committed in Donbass. The Special Committee on Ukrainian crimes has also been launched under DPR Head Alexander Zakharchenko order.

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Everyone will be punished: Ukraine prepares special law for DPR, LPR people / DONi News / November 30, 2017 / Ukrainian deputies are drafting a bill “On Collaborators”, which provides for the persecution of residents of the DPR and the LPR for 25 years in the case of the capture of the Donbass by the army of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was broadcast on the air of the Ukrainian radio by the lawyer, the head of the public organization “Space of Opportunities” Irina Loyuk. “The law is ready for today. What to do with those people, as Anton Gerashchenko (former Advisor to Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs – ed.) said, who did not commit very serious crimes and do not have blood on their hands? Just to forgive them for “promoting occupation” is impossible, because it leads to a sense of impunity. Therefore, using the experience of Western countries, using the recommendation of the PACE, we decided that the best way would be to introduce administrative restrictions,” Loyuk said. At the same time, the lawyer stressed that these restrictions would be directed to the rights to occupy certain public positions, participate in elections, to admit to state secrets. “We have a very large list of restrictions to those people who showed disloyalty towards Ukraine. Everyone will be punished, even public utilities’ providers,” Loyuk added. The law allegedly will concern people who held certain positions in state power bodies or organized events in support of the DPR and the LPR. [Editor’s Note: For more details, see StalkerZone.]

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Kurt Volker (–Strategic Culture Foundation)

US Envoy for Ukraine Is About to Fail in His Mission / By Alex Gorka / Strategic Culture Foundation / November 30, 2017 / “Kurt Volker is an experienced and tough-minded diplomat who knows how to combine principles and pragmatism into policy. He is widely respected across the political spectrum,” said Paul Saunders, the executive director of the Center for the National Interest and a former George W. Bush administration official, in his comments on Kurt Volker’s appointment as the Trump administration’s special envoy charged with ending the war in Ukraine. “The fact that they appointed [Volker] is a sign this administration is serious about Ukraine,” John Herbst, former US ambassador to Kiev, told Foreign Policy. “The United States remains fully committed to the objectives of the Minsk agreements, and I have complete confidence in Kurt to continue our efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine”, said State Secretary Rex Tillerson, emphasizing that the Minsk accords were the basis for the diplomatic endeavor. Indeed, the hopes were high. It was widely believed that a diplomat with experience as rich as Kurt Volker’s was the right man for the job. Five months has passed since his appointment in July. The negotiation process is stalled and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. His talks with Vladislav Surkov, an aide to . . . READ MORE>>

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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
(Brief Update)

Click for VIDEO.

WATCH: Ukrainian troops violate ceasefire, get stuck in new “cauldron” / Translated by Jaffe Arnold (RusVesna) for Fort Russ / November 29, 2017 / Golmovsky, Donetsk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, having violated in the Minsk Agreements and seized the villages of Gladosovo and Metallist [earlier Travnevoe was reported as captured – J.A.] in the neutral zone in Donbass, have apparently celebrated too early. According to the war correspondent of the Ministry of Defense of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Mikhail Andronik, Ukrainian troops have effectively caught themselves in a new “cauldron” like back in Debaltsevo. “All the commanding heights are ours. All of the Ukrainian troops’ movements are clearly visible even to the naked eye. They’re trying to reinforce their positions, set up mortars, and deploy gun crews…The UAF is down in the valley. In the case of provocative fire from their side, it will be easy for us to destroy their positions,” DPR fighters told Andronik. The situation now unfolding at the demarcation line, according to DPR forces, is “painfully reminiscent” of the front in late 2014 and early 2015 when Ukrainian troops were routed in the “Debaltsevo cauldron.”

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Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 11/29/2017 / DONi News/ November 29, 2017 / The situation on the contact line remains unchanged. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy attacked nine localities with different grenade launchers and small arms. In the Mariupol direction, the AFU attacked two localities, having launched 12 mortar rounds of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres on the settlements. In the Gorlovka direction, the enemy bombarded three localities with nine 82-mm calibre mortar shells, grenade launchers and small arms. As a result of the bombing, two houses Zaitsevo on the street of Artyomovskaya were damaged. At that, the attack was carried out by the punishers on the eve of the Minsk negotiations, which will certainly become an occasion for accusing the Ukrainian party of gross violation of the agreements. In fact, the specific units guilty of bombardment, set the whole of Ukraine up. In total, over the past 24 hours, 14 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. As we said earlier, the bombardment of positions of the so-called “Georgian Legion” from among the 54 separate mechanized brigade in the area of these settlements, which resulted in injuring six Georgian mercenaries, was conducted by a brigade artillery team of the 128 separate mountain infantry brigade. According to the updated data of our reconnaissance, the firing from the positions of the 128th brigade pursued the following goals: reducing the number of Georgian mercenaries, as agents of Saakashvili’s influence, through their physical elimination; provoking Georgian mercenaries to fire on the . . . READ MORE>>

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Ukraine Prevents Inspection by International Organizations of Captured Villages / Novorossinform.org / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 29, 2017 / Ukraine disrupted the inspection of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in the captured villages in the Donbas, the DNR office in the Joint Center for Monitoring and Coordination [JCCC] of the ceasefire regime said today. “The international organizations of the OSCE CMM, the ICRC and the United Nations have just left the village of Holmovskoye, controlled by the Dniester, without waiting for the security guarantees from the Ukrainian side to be approved by the SCCC to visit the inhabited settlements in the north of Gorlovka, aggressively captured by the nationalist division of the Aidar battalion,” the representative of the Donetks People’s Republic [DNR]. As reported by the agency, the observers were going to visit the villages for “monitoring the real situation and communicating with the residents.” According to the representative of the DNR, the first representatives of the Red Cross tried to travel, but they were stopped by Ukrainian security forces and returned “because they allegedly did not agree on their work in these settlements, as well as the mine danger on the approaches to settlements.” “At the same time, the ICRC received written guarantees of security from the Ukrainian side,” he said. Earlier it was reported that Ukrainian armed forces intend to arrange mass shooting of servicemen of the Armed Forces in the occupied villages of Gladosovo and Travnevoye. According to the intelligence of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the purpose of the bloody action is that mass casualties among the military will be the occasion for the removal of a number of high-ranking officials in the armed forces of Ukraine.

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Ukrainian forces fire 351 rounds at DPR over 24 hours – JCCC / DAN-news.info / November 29, 2017 / DONETSK / Ukrainian forces expended 351 rounds at DPR frontline areas over the past 24 hours, DPR representative at the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) Ruslan Yakubov said on Wednesday. “The overall number of Ukrainian army rounds fired at the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past 24 hours amounted to 351,” Yakubov said. DPR townships on Gorlovka axis came under the most intense fire. The Joint Centre for Control and Coordination and DPR Operations Command use different methodologies to count the number of ammunition rounds used by the Ukrainian army. Whereas JCCC monitors the use of all types of ammunition, DPR Operations Command only records large calibre ammunition impacts. Earlier Operations Command reported that Kiev forces violated ceasefire 14 times in 24 hours, wounding a woman in Dokuchayevsk.

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Boris Gryzlov (–DONi News)

Russia says inadmissible to capture areas in Donbass ‘grey zone’ — envoy / TASS / November 29, 2017 / MINSK / It is inadmissible that the Ukrainian Armed Forces capture areas in so-called ‘grey zone’ along the contact line in Donbass, said Boris Gryzlov, the Russian Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative to the Contact Group seeking a peace solution to the conflict in east Ukraine. “The key issues of Contact Group’s meeting have been security measures and the ceasefire which the parties to the conflict have officially vowed to maintain,” Gryzlov said on Wednesday after a regular meeting of the Contact Group in Minsk, Belarus. “The Russian delegation has pointed out in a tough manner it is inadmissible that Ukraine’s Armed Forces are seizing areas and advancing to new positions in the ‘grey zone’ along the contact line as it runs counter to the ceasefire agreement,” he said.

Ukraine is still refusing to publish orders on punishment of ceasefire violators, which the sides has earlier agreed, he added. “Ukraine is refusing to publish the orders on punishment for the ceasefire breaches and on disciplinary measures for violations of the existing agreement,” he added. “It should be done to prevent incidents resulting in human deaths.” The self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (DPR and LPR) published relevant issues over two months ago, Gryzlov said.

Creeping offensive: Under the Minsk Agreements signed by the Contact Group in February 2015, the parties were to withdraw heavy weapons in order to set up a 50-kilometer-wide security zone. In September 2015, the Contact Group adopted an additional document which stipulated establishing a 30-kilometer buffer zone (or grey zone). For the purpose, the parties had to pull light weapons 15 kilometers away from the line of disengagement. However, Kiev violated the Minsk Agreements launching a so-called creeping offensive aimed at seizing settlements located in the grey zone. According to the DPR and LPR, in 2015 and 2016 the Ukrainian military captured eight populated localities in the buffer zone. Now the Kiev authorities openly admit the ‘creeping de-occupation’ of Donbass.

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Mikhail Saakashvili, shown here with US Senator John McCain, May 2015 (–Rt.com)

Saakashvili states Poroshenko orders to arrest him / DONi News / November 29, 2017 / Ex-President of Georgia, former governor of the Odessa region of Ukraine Mikhail Saakashvili stated on Wednesday (November 29) that President of Ukraine Pyotr Poroshenko had given an order to the General Prosecutor’s Office and Security Service of the country to arrest him. On the eve, one tent burnt down in a tent camp organized by Saakashvili’s adherents near the building of Ukraine’s Vekhovna Rada in Kiev city center. As a result of the fire, nobody got injured. “Today, on Wednesday, I have got to know that President Poroshenko has completely crossed the red line and ordered to arrest me for a coup attempt in Ukraine and invented case from Odessa. He gave the order to Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko, Security Service of Ukraine,” said Saakashvili. He added that on the eve his driver had been severely beaten. According to him, law enforcement officials will attempt to arrest him in the nearest two-three days – before the organized march for Ukraine’s President Impeachment which is scheduled for December 3.

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Rex Tillerson (–AP/Evan Vucci)

Tillerson Puts Forward New Charges Against Russia / VzGlyad / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 29, 2017 / Washington will be able to begin the process of restoring relations with Moscow only if it takes steps to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine, said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. In addition, he made several new accusations against Moscow. “We hope that Russia will take steps to restore full sovereignty of Ukraine and territorial integrity and fully implement its obligations within the framework of Minsk, allowing us to then begin the process of restoring normal relations,” Tass reported. Tillerson said that the sanctions, which are related to the Minsk agreements, will continue until Russia begins to take action to “use them.” He said that Russia has violated the sovereignty of Europe’s largest country, and the US has been counteracting “this Russian aggression” since 2014 with the help of “sanctions policy”. Tillerson added that the United States intends to help “the success of an independent and whole Ukraine.” In this case, the future of Kiev, he argues, depends on the victory in the internal struggle and the implementation of reforms in various fields. He urged the Ukrainian authorities to eradicate corruption. The Secretary of State said that Moscow behaves aggressively towards its neighbors, at the same time, he is sure, “the West continues its attempts to build productive new relations with post-Soviet Russia.” At the same time, he called the possibility of building these relations “illusory.” He said that Washington was trying to “reset relations with Russia,” but it ended with “invasions” to Georgia and Ukraine. “Russia continues to be aggressive towards other neighbors in the region, interfering in the electoral process and promoting undemocratic ideals,” Tillerson said. Russia has repeatedly stated that it does not participate and is not a party to the conflict in the Donbass. At the same time, as Russian President Vladimir Putin noted, the Ukrainian authorities are doing everything to prevent the implementation of the Minsk agreements, but in the West either they do not notice it or do not want to notice it. Quemado Institute comments: Tillerson is turning out to be an neocon warhawk on Donbass—as irrational and misinformed as his predecessor John Kerry. President Trump should fire him. Trump’s own position is not yet clear, but should be clarified when he decides whether or not to send US lethal weapons to Ukraine.

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James Mattis

Kiev gives Washington list of necessary weapons / DONi News / November 29, 2017 / The Ukrainian party agreed on lists of weapons for deliveries from the US and expects an appropriate political solution. This was stated by the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko. “All the lists have been submitted from our side, everything has been agreed, we are only waiting for a political decision. Giving weapons will be a clear signal to all countries, including NATO members, that such deliveries can be made to Ukraine,” Muzhenko said. According to him, the Ukrainian party expected air defense systems, air reconnaissance and electronic warfare, as well as supplies of antitank weapons from the US. “As for the samples of weapons planned for delivery from the US, it is, in particular, air defense systems, especially air reconnaissance means, electronic warfare means, which are critical for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and our defense industry cannot yet provide them for us. We also need medical vehicles, especially armoured vehicles, but this is non-lethal technology, so the first batch of such cars has already arrived in Ukraine, they will soon be received by the troops. And, of course, anti-tank weapons also in the list, even though today the domestic industry provides us with weapons modeled on “Stugna” or “Korsar,” he added. On August 24 during a visit to Kiev, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said that in the United States were considering the issue of providing Ukraine with defensive lethal weapons.

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Yavlinsky Tells How He Will Deal with Donbass if He Becomes President of Russia / News-obovsem.ru / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 29, 2017 / The leader of the Yabloko party, Grigory Yavlinsky, in case of his victory in the presidential election, intends to forbid the position of LDNR on Russian television, which he called “lies and propaganda”. He stated this on the air of the Russian First Channel. “First of all, I will stop anti-Ukrainian propaganda, which turned into the propaganda of hatred and endless war. As soon as I declare that I intend to establish peace with Ukraine, everyone who wants to stay on television will guess that it’s better not to engage in lies and propaganda, “Yavlinsky said. In addition, in the event of a hypothetical victory, he will prohibit any LDPR assistance, including humanitarian assistance. “We need to make it absolutely clear that Russia stops supporting all separatist movements: military, diplomatic, material, financial, propaganda. Stop sending vacationers there. A step in this direction is already being discussed. This is the introduction of security forces and a real closing of the border between Ukraine and Russia, “Yavlinsky said. He believes that for a period of time the Donbass will be under the mandate of the UN security, after which it will become part of Ukraine. “International security forces are not always effective, but there is no other solution, because what happened there is a terrible crime. Tens of thousands of people died. As a result of all these military operations, the Boeing was shot down, “Yavlinsky said. [QI editor’s note: this article was posted on Twitter by Novorossiya supporter Vladimir Suchan.]

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Givi as I Knew Him Historic VIDEO by Graham Phillips
February 21, 2017Click for Video.
English subtitles, 35 minutes

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Monday, November 27, 2017
(Brief Update)

Igor Plotnitsky (–South Front)

Eastern Ukraine: LPR Internal Crisis Ends With Resignation Of Plotnitsky / South Front / November 27, 2017 / Last week’s takeover in the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) spawned a crisis, which largely seems to be over now. This takeover was long time in the making, since at least the fall of 2014. The leaders of the republic — Igor Plotnitsky, the Head of the Republic, and Gennadiy Tsipkalov, the Prime Minister — represented different power spheres in Luhansk, with the latter representing the military, and the former the administrative. Plotnitsky was unpopular with the military, which only escalated when he managed to fire Tsipkalov in late 2015, increasing military opposition and arrests.

The conflict, now rooted in a long-standing antagonism between Plotnitsky and Minister of Interior Affairs Igor Kornet, started to heat up in November. On November 9 the Minister of Interior Affairs was kicked out of his house by Plotnitsky, under suspicion that he had allegedly extorted it from an elderly woman. After the house was returned to its previous owner, it was discovered that Kornet bought the house in 2015 with the necessary documentation filled out in Kyiv, raising suspicion of collaboration. The house Kornet was kicked out of had belonged to the late Valeriy Bukayev, one of the most influential businessmen in the region. His ex-wife moved to Kiev, and her new partner enrolled in the Aidar battalion. According to the DPR officials, they’d been offering help to Ukrainian military. Plotnitsky, it turned out, returned the house to the enemy of the republic. A LPR military commander addressed Plotnitsky on YouTube. In the video, commander Alexander Gaidey (nom de guerre Rhim) expressed his concerns regarding high-ranking military personnel being sacked, and voiced his suspicions that Plotnitsky . . . READ MORE>>

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(Eng Subs) Interview Leonid Pasechnik New Lugansk LPR Head. by Andrey Rudenko. Ukraine War.VIDEO by Patrick Lancaster
November 27, 2017Click for video.
Andrey Rudenko has interviewed the New leader of the Ukraine break away state, Lugansk Peoples Republic, Leonid Pasechnik. This video is to help English speaking people understand the situation.

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Click to enlarge.

CONFIRMED: Ukraine invades 2 neutral villages, Donetsk promises retaliation / By Eduard Popov / Fort Russ / November 27, 2017 / Amidst the recent events in Lugansk which have culminated in a change of government, the Ukrainian side has taken advantage of the temporary, relative disorientation of Donbass to attempt offensive operations. Ukrainian troops have since confirmed that they’ve seized two villages over the past three days, Travnevoe and Gladosovo, which are located in the designated neutral or “gray” zone in Donbass. The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has not considered these advances and the capture of residential areas to be in violation of the Minsk Agreements.

Judging by the now public admissions of Ukrainian soldiers and militants from the Ukrainian Nazi battalions, a fairly large-scale offensive operation was being prepared while Lugansk was embroiled in its “coup.” The result of the intended Ukrainian operation was supposed to be the capture of considerably large areas currently controlled by the republics of Donbass. Like always, however, the Ukrainians wanted a lot, but only managed to acquire a little.

At any rate, this is a success for the Ukrainians, albeit a minor one compared to the original plans. As follows, Donetsk has since been compelled to respond. On November 27th, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, promised a symmetric response to the Ukrainian armed forces’ capture of “gray zone” positions. Zakharchenko is quoted as stating: “Since the OSCE believes that Kiev’s actions do not violate the Minsk Agreements, but are a mere ‘improvement’ of the Ukrainian side’s positions, we too will in turn…begin to improve our positions.” How real is Zakharchenko’s . . . READ MORE>>[Substantial analysis at source.]

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ATO Prepares for Provocation: Ukrainian Drones Inspect “Gray Zone” / Kharkov News Agency / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 27, 2017 / The siloviki of the so-called antiterrorist operation activated their unmanned aerial vehicles in the area of captured villages of the “gray zone”. According to the representative of the operational command of the Donetsk People’s Republic Eduard Basurin, Ukrainian drones were recorded over Gorlovka and Dokuchaevsky. “Our intelligence received data on the use of unmanned vehicles by the units of the Armed Forces, for reconnaissance and correction of artillery and mortar fire in the areas of Dokuchaevsk and Gorlovka,” the commander said. Recall that the situation in the Gorlovka region has seriously worsened, after the Ukrainian siloviki unauthorizedly captured two villages in the so-called “gray zone”. The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has already transferred equipment and armament there. In this regard, the Donetsk command does not exclude that in the near future the Ukrainian side will begin to destabilize the situation on this sector of the front.

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Military situation in Gorlovka Worsens / Nrt24.ru / November 27, 2017 / (Edited by QI) / Armed Forces of Ukraine, exactly brigade 128, has been carrying out shelling for several days. Kiev troops have been using heavy artillery, mortars, and grenade launchers. The hostility is targeted against both civilians and DPR positions. RAPIRA is being used, even though, in regard to the Minsk Agreements, it was supposed to be withdrawn, and now they use it directly on Gorlovka villages. As a result of the shelling, one populated house caugh fire in the village Golma. There was not ability to put out the fire because the Kiev side does not stop attacking. [See also: Zaitsevo Resident Loses Home Due to Ukrainian Shelling atStalkerzone.]

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VIDEO by Press service of UNM DNR
November 21, 2017Click for VIDEO.
Today, about 14.00 a group of civilian journalists, accompanied by a military correspondent of the press service of the Supreme Council of the Donetsk People’s Republic and an officer of the 3rd detachment of the VS of the Gorlovka People’s Democratic Party of Zheleznoye witnessed the shelling of the Dolomitnoye settlement by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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Ukrainian Journalist Tells about Hostility of Residents of Villages Captured by APU / VzGlyad / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / The residents of the villages of Travnevoye and Gladosovo, which were previously in the “gray zone” [ie belonged to the DPR –QI editor], were hostile to the Ukrainian armed forces, Ukrainian journalist Andrei Tsaplienko said. “The village of Travnevoye and Gladosovo was returned to Ukraine. Two small pieces of Donbass earth are no longer a ‘gray zone’. The day before yesterday, rubles were here and militants lived,” he wrote last week in his Facebook. He said that this is the biggest success of the Armed Forces since the end of 2014. At the same time, according to the journalist, the villagers differ in their attitude to the Ukrainian siloviki. “Many had tears of gratitude in their eyes. And they said that finally Ukraine came. Some looked with undisguised hostility. This is how he, the Donbass, is different,” he wrote. Meanwhile, Ukrainian volunteer Yury Mysyagin stated that the villagers of the captured villages met the Ukrainian siloviki “as liberators”. Let’s remind, last week, taking advantage of the situation in the LNR, the Ukrainian security forces launched an offensive on the contact line. On Saturday, the Supreme Council of Ukraine confirmed that the villages of Travnevoye and Gladosovo were captured. At the same time, the Ukrainian security forces planned to seize the territory right up to Gorlovka, but the offensive failed. Quemado Institute comments: We doubt many residents of Travnevoye and Gladosovo had “tears of gratitude in their eyes.” It is tragic that the DPR militia refuses to defend the Grey Zones, which were originally DPR territory. This refusal to defend their own territory is likely due to political pressure from Russia, which seeks to appease the West by appearing to obey the Minsk Agreements. The Agreements however did not require the militia’s unilateral withdrawal.

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VIDEO by Novorossia TV world July 31, 2017Click for video. (In Russian)Project Vladislav Brig: “On the protection of their native land: Detachment Gorlovka”
[Translation:] Gorlovka is located in the north of Donetsk, so it turned out that the largest number of Ukrainian formations accumulated under the city in the summer of 2014, and who, no matter how local the guys became to defend the city, and did not let the enemy pass. Each of them went to defend his family, his home, his homeland, everyone understood that to let the Nazis into Gorlovka, they would reach Donetsk, and establish their fascist regime. We tirelessly thank our defenders who gave us the Victory thanks to which we live on our land.

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Washington Determined about Russian Oeacekeepers in Donbass / <em>Vesti-ukr.com / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 27, 2017 / US Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker opposed the inclusion of Russians in the UN Security Mission in the Donbass. This is reported by TASS with a link to The Washington Post. Volcker noted that Russians should not be allowed to participate in the UN mission in eastern Ukraine. The UN Security Mission should have freedom of movement throughout the Donbas, and the contingent of peace-keepers should have access to the Ukrainian-Russian border. He also said that he would continue negotiations on the settlement of the situation in the Donbass along with the Russian President’s aide Vladislav Surkov. Volcker is sure that the peacemaking plan gives hope for a return to Minsk-2. Surkov and Volcker met in Belgrade on November 13. Then the American side presented its proposals on the draft resolution of the UN Security Council regarding the deployment of the mission in the Donbass. Surkov said that of the 29 points Russia found acceptable three. Later it was decided that Kurt Volker and presidential aide Vladislav Surkov would meet again in December to discuss the UN mission in the Donbass.

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Media: Russians must not be included in the UN peacekeeping force in Donbass / Essence of Time / November 27, 2017 / The US administration’s position is to not include Russian citizens in the UN peacekeeping mission, in case such a mission will be deployed in eastern Ukraine The Washington Post’s online version stated on November 26, citing Kurt Volker, the US Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, TASS reports. Previously, Volker expressed his opinion about the UN peacekeeping force. According to him, it should control the entire territory of southeast Ukraine, including the border with the Russian Federation, and not just the contact line of the opposing sides. The Washington Post’s article cites Volker’s radical words. According to him, a true U.N. peacekeeping force should be deployed in Donbass, which must have access to the Ukraine-Russia border and not have any Russian personnel in it. At the same time, the US Special Representative talks about the desire to continue negotiations with Russia regarding the Ukrainian crisis and hopes that the UN peacekeeping plan gives a better hope for a return to Minsk-2. On November 10, The Wall Street Journal stated that the US has the intention to invite Russia to deploy 20,000 international peacekeepers across the territory of Donbass. However, the peacekeepers should be placed under the auspices of the OSCE, and not the UN. The publication informed that negotiations between Washington and Moscow on this issue will begin in the near future. Kiev supported the idea of placing a large international contingent across the territory of Donbass. On November 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin, answering journalists’ questions, said that no official proposals from the US on this issue have been received yet. Editorial comments by Essence of Time: Deploying a large peacekeeping contingent across the entire territory of Donbass implies an immediate occupation of the rebelling republics, taking them under the control by the Ukrainian Bandera regime with the inevitable genocide of “Moskals and the Moskalized“. The absence of Russians in such a contingent will make it possible to achieve total and absolute control over this contingent by the West. –Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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Russian company Gloria Jeans suspected of Aiding Terrorism / Obshchaya Gazeta / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 27, 2017 / The Russian company Gloria Jeans was accused of financing terrorism because of the production of its goods in the territory of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic [LNR]. / The Russian company Gloria Jeans was accused of financing terrorism because of the production of its goods in the territory of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic. Employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducted searches in Gloria Jeans stores as part of the investigation into the complicity of terrorism. Investigative activities were conducted in the shops of Kiev, Kharkiv, Odessa, Lviv, Dnepropetrovsk, Zaporozhye and Poltava regions. Now all the goods are seized, but the stores continue to work, Kommersant reports. According to the Ukrainian siloviki, clothes and shoes of the Russian brand are produced in the Lugansk region, and the company itself pays taxes to the budget of the LNR. The SBU also believes that Russia falsified the origin of clothing Gloria Jeans: things were made in the LNR, returned to Russia, and then again sent to Ukraine for sale.

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Sunday, November 26, 2017
(Brief update)

Kiev launches over 1,200 shells on DPR territory in 24 hours – JCCC / DONi News / November 26, 2017 / The Ukrainian army launched more than 1,200 shells on the front-line localities of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past 24 hours, DPR Representative Office Head to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) Ruslan Yakubob states. “Altogether, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) launched 1,217 shells on the DPR territory in the last 24 hours,” pointed out Yakubov. The localities in the Donetsk direction underwent the most intensive shelling on the part of the enemy. Altogether, according to Yakubov, over the past 24 hours there were registered 50 ceasefire violations on the part of Ukrainian military. Quemado Institute comments: On Saturday November 25, a number of Twitter sources from inside or near Donetsk reported an escalation of Ukrainian fire not seen since last summer, including constant loud booms audible from the center of the city at an estimated distance of 4 km.

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Command of Donetsk People’s Republic Announce Seizure by Ukrainian Army of Another Grey Zone Village / TASS (in Russian) / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 25, 2017 / DONETSK / Ukrainian Security Vorces seized another settlement – the village of Travnevoye near Gorlovka, while occupying houses of civilians. This was announced on Saturday by the representative of the operational command of the proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin. “In the direction of Gorlovka, 54 separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the support of the battalion of 24 separate assault battalion “Aidar” captured residents of two settlements in the “gray zone” – the villages of Gladosovo and Travnevoye,” he said. According to Basurin, a patrol of the OSCE observation mission will go to populated areas. Earlier in the DNR, it was also reported that the Kiev security forces installed mortars in the settlements and mined the neighborhood. In turn, the headquarters of the Kiev force operation confirmed that the MU took these settlements, but called it “a visit to help the civilian population and assess the current situation,” and also reported on the establishment of a humanitarian headquarters. The so-called gray zone divides the militias of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics and the Ukrainian army. Its borders are established by Minsk agreements and the introduction of troops of one or another party into the settlements in it is a violation of international agreements. Quemado Institute comments: We consider the latter statement by TASS to be false. Yes, the contact line is established de facto by the Minsk Agreements (although its geographic location is not specified). The Minsk Agreements also establish distances from the contact line to which various calibers of weapons must be withdrawn. The grey zone, however, is not mentioned in the Minsk Agreements. In fact, this zone was originally DPR/LPR territory. The Novorossiya Armed Forces withdrew unilaterally in the summer of 2015, apparently under orders from Moscow, we presume at the behest of Putin to appease the West. Note that the Minsk Agreements do not require troop withdrawal nor unilateral action of any kind. All requirements are mutual.

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Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 11/26/2017 / DONi News / November 26, 2017 / The situation on the contact line remains tense. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy fired 27 artillery projectiles of 122-mm calibre, 23 tanks rounds, one anti-tank guided missile, 192 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres at 12 localities’ adjacent areas. Grenade launchers and small arms were also applied. In the Mariupol direction, the AFU units fired 60 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres onto six localities’ areas. In the Gorlovka direction, the enemy launched 50 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres onto four localities’ areas, at that engaging fire with grenade launchers and small arms. In total, over the past 24 hours, there were registered 50 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Our intelligence continues detecting the concentration of prohibited AFU weapons in the ‘ATO’ zone. In particular, in Volnovakha locality there was detected the arrival of a train with armoured vehicles and artillery systems, which will be meant for strengthening the AFU units in the Mariupol direction. The facts of offences and crimes committed by the AFU against civilians continue being noted. In particular, it has been established that militants of the 25th separate airborne brigade are settling in their buildings of civilian educational institutions in Avdeyevka locality against the will of the heads of the latter, to the detriment of the educational process of students and schoolchildren, which causes resentment among parents and teaching staff. And punitive squads of the 2nd battalion of the 30th separate mechanized brigade had captured a store in the east of Maryinka locality, which was eventually completely ransacked, and is now used by them as a place of residence of the AFU unit. In addition, our intelligence obtained the data of correspondence via Viber between Kalmazan, the reconnaissance chief of . . . READ MORE>>

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NATO Soldier Joins Donbass (Southern Ukraine) VIDEO by Donbass Rose
November 25, 2017Click for VIDEO
In March 2017 Pascal Hillebrand moved to DPR (Donetsk People’s Republic in SE Ukraine) with his girlfriend and two kids. Western taxpayers money is used to wage wars all over the world and he didn’t want to be part of it any longer. In the past, Pascal used to serve in the NATO army. However, after arriving in Donetsk he made a decision to join the DPR armed forces. In Donbass he was most impressed by the kindness of people. “They are all friendly and they are no terrorists!”, Pascal said.”

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Click for VIDEO.

Soldiers of Donetsk People’s Republic Penetrate into Occupied Village of Gladosovo(VIDEO) / Russkaya Vesna / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 26, 2017 / On November 25, the military correspondent of the press service of the Armed Forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR] managed to get into the area of Glushovo village, which was captured by the Ukrainian armed forces, and to photograph the actions of the Ukrainian military, who are bringing reinforcements and equipment to the settlement, and are actively building up new positions. The appearance of the enemy in the village has already led to a sharp activation of shelling from the Ukrainian side of nearby settlements – primarily the village of Golmovsky. At the same time, OSCE observers preferred to keep at a respectable distance from the line of demarcation and did not go beyond the center of the village of Golmovsky to fix the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces violating the Minsk agreements. The video was provided to the “Russkaya Vesna” by the press service of the VS of the DPR.

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Donbass militia eliminate Ukrainian reconnaissance group / Fort Russ / November 25, 2017 / A group of saboteurs wished to enter the territory of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) to conduct provocations, said Defense Ministry spokesman Andrei Marochko. On November 23, it became known that three personnel of the Ukrainian security forces were killed, two were wounded when an attempt of a reconnaissance group reached the position of the LPR army. The bodies of the dead were transferred to Ukrainian volunteers. During the transfer, it was found that the personnel were in fact reconnaissance and sabotage group, whose aim was to seize the positions of the LPR and penetrate into the interior personnel of the republic, Marochko explained.

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DPR: The Minsk process to continue despite Plotnitsky’s resignation / Essence of Time / November 25, 2017 / The change of the head of the Lugansk People’s Republic will not have a negative impact on efforts taken for the Minsk agreements execution to settle the conflict in Donbass, DPR People’s Council spokesman Denis Pushilin said in Minsk on November 24, Donetsk News Agency reported. “The Minsk process will be continued as before”, DPR spokesman ensured. “There are no negative preconditions after Igor Plotnitsky’s resignation from the post of the Head of the Republic, as he has now been appointed as the Lugansk People’s Republic’s authorized representative for fulfilling the Minsk agreements”, the official explained.

Earlier, Oleg Tyagnibok, the leader of Ukrainian ultra-nationalist Svoboda party, said that the Minsk agreements would become not legitimate in case of Plotnitsky’s resignation. In his opinion, as the ex-Head of the Republic was among the signers of the Minsk agreements, “the Minsk is already in fact illegitimate”.

On November 24, it was revealed that the head of the LPR Igor Plotnitsky has resigned due to his health condition. The security minister Leonid Pasechnik was appointed as the republic’s interim head. The resignation was preceded by a conflict between Igor Plotnitsky and the LPR minister of internal affairs Igor Kornet. The latter official claimed that his resignation was illegal and accused Plotnitsky’s closest circle in betraying the Republic’s interests. Experts say that the resignation of the head of the LPR could be connected with these events. –Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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Saturday, November 25, 2017
(Brief update)

DPR Head Zakharchenko congratulates Pasechnik on assuming LPR acting head position / Donetsk News Agency (DAN) / November 25, 2017 / DONETSK / The DPR Head Alexander Zakharchenko has congratulated the LPR acting Head Leonid Pasechnik on assumption of the office. “Leonid Ivanovich, I congratulate you on the assumption of the office of acting Head of the Lugansk People’s Republic! It is not an easy task in the circumstances of war and economic blockade, but I am sure you shall cope with it with honor. I am also sure that together we shall effectively withstand Kiev’s aggression and build peaceful life,” Zakharchenko said. Earlier on Friday Igor Plotnitskiy resigned from the position of the LPR Head for health reasons. The security minister of the LPR announced he was taking over power from Plotnitskiy until forthcoming elections. The ex-leader was appointed authorized representative of the LPR to implement the Minsk Agreements.

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People’s Council approves Leonid Pasechnik as Acting Head of LPR / DONi News / November 25, 2017 / The People’s Council approved Leonid Pasechnik as Acting Head of the LPR. “Pursuant to Article 62 Paragraph 7 Part 2, Article 70 of the Provisional Basic Law (Constitution) of the LPR, the People’s Council decides to recognize Pasechnik Leonid Ivanovich as the Acting Head of the LPR from November 25, 2017,” Chairman of the People’s Council Vladimir Degtyarenko said. Deputies adopted the decision unanimously. [QI Editor’s Note: For Oleg Tsarev’s opinion on the transition of power in Lugansk, see StalkerZone.]

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Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 11/25/2017 / DONi News / November 25, 2017 / The situation on the contact line remains tense. In the Donetsk direction, 36 artillery ammos of 122-mm calibre, 33 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres were launched by the enemy on nine localities and the surrounding areas. In the Mariupol direction, AFU units targeted the settlements of Sosnovskoye and Leninskoye from grenade launchers and small arms. In the Gorlovka direction, the areas of four localities were targeted with IFV cannons, grenade launchers and small arms. In total, over the past 24 hours, 25 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. As a result of targeted attacks by the armed forces of Ukraine on the residential areas of settlements Dokuchayevsk, Yasnoye and Golmovsky with help of prohibited weapons, the damage was inflicted to: – Residential house on the street of Teatralnaya, 10 in Dokuchayevsk (the glazing of the window frame is damaged); – Residential house on the street of Shchorsa, 27/2 in Yasnoye (glazing is damaged); – Residential house on the street Shchorsa, 31 in Yasnoye (the glazing of the balcony and the porch of the house are damaged.); – Residential house on the street of Shchorsa, 46 in Yasnoye (garage roof and car burned down); – Residential houses on the street of Zagorodnaya 6A and 12/2 in Golmovsky (glazing is damaged). These facts speak of a real genocide by the Ukrainian authorities of the Donbass population! After such shelling, no civilians will ever be happy with the occupation by Ukrainian troops, no matter how punishers want it when seizing settlements. One DPR Armed Forces’ serviceman died when defending the Republic. Yesterday, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Turchinov said that the Armed Forces would continue improving their positions and advancing to the territory of the People’s Republics, despite the Minsk agreements. It is these statements of Ukrainian politicians that provoke the incompetent command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to carry out insane acts, because of which the civilian population suffers, and Ukrainian servicemen die.

As we already know, in the Gorlovka direction, the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, with the support of notorious nationalists from the battalion of the 24 separate assault battalion “Aidar”, took hostage the inhabitants of two settlements in the “grey zone” – Gladosovo and Travnevoye. In addition, in the Lugansk direction, in the vicinity of Krymskoye settlement, AFU units made an unsuccessful attempt to throw two subversive terrorist groups on the position of the LPR Armed Forces’ units. As a result, 58 separate mechanised infantry brigade lost four people killed, two wounded and one captured. These actions are aimed solely at disrupting the Minsk accords. At that, the responsibility for the breakdown will lie on the head of the AFU General Staff Muzhenko and the commander of the so-called ‘ATO’ zone forces Zabrodsky, who personally led the failed operations. In the first – the torture of civilians in the villages of Gladosovo and Travnevoye, and in the second – the death of their fighters under Dzerzhinsky, which they didn’t care about at all. —Vice-Commander of the DPR People’s Militia, Colonel Eduard Basurin, official translation by DONi News Agency

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Lugansk People’s Republic resolves internal crisis with dignity and professionalism / By Adam Garrie / The Duran / November 24, 2017 / This week has been fraught with both real and fake news stories about an internal political crisis in the Lugansk People’s Republic in Donbass. The genesis of the conflict appears to be a dispute that Interior Minister Igor Kornet had with former Lugansk President Igor Plotnitsky. Kornet suggested that Plotnitsky was surrounded with various saboteurs and that such people needed to be removed for the good of Lugansk. At no time did Kornet publicly accuse Plotnitsky of any personal wrongdoing. However, Plotnitsky has been widely accused of being an uninspirational leader who is no longer up to the task of running a young republic besieged by the aggressive warfare of the fascist Kiev regime.

Social media had long been filled with rumours of Plotnitsky’s responsibility for the deaths of Lugansk commanders in the past, although these rumours have likely spread due to the fact that Plotnitsky was gradually becoming seen as in ineffective commander rather than a traitor. There has never been any substantial evidence showing that Plotnitsky ever conspired against his own officers. Lugansk Peoplpe’s Republic Security Minister Leonid Pasechnik has been appointed as interim President, until new elections are held. Pasechnik thanked his predecessor for his service and announced the appointment of Plotnitsky to a new role as Lugansk’s envoy for future discussions on the Minsk Accords which aim to bring a long-term ceasefire to the Donbass conflict. This move is clearly designed to demonstrate the internal stability of Lugansk, in so far as a man seen as not fit to be leader, will still have a respectable position within the government, albeit as an envoy whose role is largely honorific due to the stalemate in implementing the Minsk Agreements. The move also helps put to rest, the rumours from pro-Kiev regime social media that Plotnitsky has been killed or is being tortured. Clearly, neither of these assertions have any factual merit.

Pasechnik stated, “Igor Plotnitsky has made a great contribution to the peaceful settlement process. He is one of the Minsk accords signers. He has been appointed plenipotentiary of the Lugansk People’s Republic for execution of the Minsk accords”. While many of the finite details concerning what convinced Plotnitsky to finally relinquish power are yet to be fully known, it would appear that as was the case of the far more experienced Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe, Plotnitsky realised that his former comrades wanted a changing of the guard and like all leaders who would rather leave with dignity than with a fight, he eventually acquiesced. Overall, the comparatively smooth transition from a leader whose . . . READ MORE>>

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ICRC Ukraine on Twitter
November 23, 2017
No fruit trees in this buffer-zone village in #Donbass since last winter.
People had to cut them to cope w/ temps like -25°C.
No gas/power &
mines make it dangerous to get wood from forests.
It took us 9 trips in 3 days to bring 3 tonnes of coal briquettes to these families.

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Friday, November 24, 2017
(Full Report)

Click for VIDEO: Statement by L.I. Pasechnik

Plotnitsky Resigns, Leonid Pasechnik Becomes Acting LPR Head (VIDEO) / Lugansk Information Center / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 24, 2017 / Statement by Pasechnik L.I.: Today, Igor Venediktovich Plotnitsky resigned for health reasons. Numerous military injuries and the consequences of concussion were caused, in accordance with his decision, I will assume the duties of the head of the Republic until the forthcoming elections. I am grateful to Igor Venediktovich for his decision and trust. Igor Venediktovich made a great contribution to the process of peaceful settlement. He is one of the signatories of the Minsk agreements, today he is appointed as an authorized representative of the Lugansk People’s Republic for the implementation of the Minsk agreements. I also declare my commitment to the Minsk Agreements. The Republic will consistently implement the commitments undertaken in accordance with these agreements. The Council of Ministers, the People’s Council of the LNR and other authorities continue to work in the regular mode. For my part, I want to assure the inhabitants of the LNR that I will do everything in my power to benefit the people of Lugansk region.

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Igor Plotnitsky (–TASS)

Lugansk People’s Republic head resigns / TASS / November 24, 2017 / Head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) Igor Plotnitsky has resigned due to health problems, LPR State Security Minister Leonid Pasechnik said in a statement published on the Lugansk Media Center website on Friday. “Today, Igor Plotnitsky has resigned due to health problems, aggravated by numerous battle injuries and concussion consequences. In accordance with his decision, I come into office as the republic’s head until the coming election,” the statement says. Pasechnik thanked Plotnitsky for his decision and the credence given to him. “Igor Plotnitsky has made a great contribution to the peaceful settlement process. He is one of the Minsk accords signers. He has been appointed plenipotentiary of the Lugansk People’s Republic for execution of the Minsk accords,” he noted. Igor Plotnitsky has been appointed an envoy for the implementation of the Minsk agreements. “He is among the signatories to the Minsk agreements and was appointed today the Lugansk People’s Republic’s envoy for the implementation of the Minsk agreements,” the statement said. “I also state my adherence to the Minsk accords. The republic will be consistently executing the obligations taken under these agreements,” Pasechnik pointed out.

In his statement, he also stressed that “the Board of Ministers, the LPR People’s Council and other power structures continue operating on a routine basis.” “For my part, I want to assure the LPR residents that I will do everything possible for the Lugansk people’s welfare,” Pasechnik concluded. Leonid Pasechnik has been appointed acting head of the Lugansk People’s Republic until forthcoming elections. The People’s Council, or legislature, of the LPR has received Igor Plotnitsky’s letter of resignation as head of the republic and appointment of Leonid Pasechnik as acting head, the Council’s speaker, Vladimir Degtyarenko, said in a statement posted by LuganskInformCenter on Friday. “I have no doubts that the People’s Council will support the candidature of Leonid Pasechnik as acting head of the Lugansk People’s Republic. All necessary amendments will be done to the normative acts immediately,” the statement said. Igor Plotnitsky’s biography: Igor Plotnitsky was born on June 24, 1964, in the town of . . . READ MORE>>

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Leonid Pasechnyk (–Twitter.com)

[Enemy Report:] Coup-styled takeover shakes up Ukraine’s Russian-backed Lugansk enclave / Financial Times / November 24, 2017 / Igor Plotnitsky appears to have been fully deposed as leader of one of two Russian-backed separatist strongholds in Ukraine’s breakaway eastern Donbas region. That culminated a chaotic week in which armed militants backing rivals challenged Mr Plotnitsky’s authority by staging coup-styled takeovers of government buildings and media. Late on Friday Leonid Pasechnyk, security chief in the self-declared Lugansk People’s Republic, announced that he was taking over as acting head of the heavily-militarised region were separatist forces hours earlier killed five Ukrainian soldiers in daily clashes that have continued since 2014. Mr Pasechnyk’s claim in a Russian-language statement posted on a news site used by separatist leadership that Mr Plotnitsky had resigned due to “state of health” was not immediately confirmed. The surprise announcement came one day after video released purported to show Mr Plotnitsky arriving in a Moscow airport. His departure from Lugansk amid an attempted coup fuelled speculation that he had either fled or travelled to Moscow to hold backroom negotations about the crisis with Kremlin officials.

Russian officials have remained tight lipped on the tense standoff. It erupted after Mr Plotnitsky on Tuesday fired a rival, Igor Kornet, from his post as interior minister of the internationally-unrecognised separatist republic. Mr Kornet responded by launching investigations into Mr Plotnitsky’s inner circle as militants without insignia surrounded key government buildings in Lugansk, the provincial capital. Russian-backed separatist troops from the nearby self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic reportedly rolled in to Lugansk this week to intervene. The development sparked analysts and observers to predict that the standoff over leadership of Lugansk-based separatists was also rooted in plans to unite both Russian-backed enclaves into a single republic. Such an outcome threatens to complicate efforts to forge a lasting peace and settlement to the conflict through the so-called Minsk agreements which were brokered in 2015 by the leaders of France, Germany and Russia. In an apparent bid to dispel such concerns, Mr Pasechnyk in noting that his predecessor was a signatory to the peace accords, stressed “I also declare my commitment to the Minsk Agreements.” He added that Mr Plotnitsky would, going forward, serve as an envoy representing the region in the Minsk peace talks. [Source: ft.com/content/ada05b42-c085-3d74-8ca1-82b3afdb8a63]

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Plotnitsky Arrives in Moscow / By Zahor Prilepin / Vk.com / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 23, 2017 / Igor Plotnitsky flew to Moscow from Rostov on an ordinary flight. Here just arrived. Economy class, a quiet man without protection. Generally one. We met his eyes, he did not show anything. He does not look concerned. Almost peaceful. I got on the bus with everyone, got off the bus. In Sheremetyevo, two operatives waiting for him followed, young, merry, Moscow. That’s what history looks like everyday. Ordinary and unpretentious. With a small bag on his shoulder and jacket in the case. Everything for a new life. [Photo: still from video of Plotnitsky arriving at Moscow airport.]

Kremlin assures Minsk deal will remain in force despite events in Lugansk republic / TASS / November 24, 2017 / MOSCOW / Moscow is committed to the Minsk peace deal on Ukraine despite the events in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday. “As for the Minsk agreements, the position, which has been stated many times by President (Vladimir) Putin, remains unchanged – there is no alternative to the Minsk agreements, and Russia is committed to the signature, which President Putin put on these agreements,” Peskov said, commenting on the alleged arrival of LPR’s head Igor Plotnitsky in Moscow and its possible impact on the Minsk deal fulfillment. Peskov stressed that Plotnitsky’s arrival in Moscow “is not a matter of the presidential administration.”

The Minsk agreements reached on February 12, 2015 by the Normandy Four (Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine) leaders envisaged ceasefire and also laid out a roadmap for a lasting settlement in Ukraine, including local elections and constitutional reform to give more autonomy to the war-torn eastern regions. The Ukrainian forces and militias of the self-proclaimed republics have repeatedly accused each other of violating ceasefire and other points of the Minsk agreements.

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24 hours in Lugansk #2: Igor Kornet on the situation VIDEO by Patrick Lancaster (English subtitles)Click for video.
Lugansk LPR Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Kornet 11/22/2017 LUGANSK MILITARY “LOCKDOWN” DAY 3 What I know after spending 24 hours in Lugansk: 1. LPR head Igor Plotnitsky ordered dismissal of Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Kornet. 2. Kornet takes responsibility for the large deployment of soldiers to secure the city center. 3.Kornet says that Saboteur groups have infiltrated the LPR government and given false information to Plotnitsky so Igor Plotnitsky is not at fault 4. No blood was shed 5. The city is functioning well, people are on the streets and shops are open 6. Plotnitsky has left the LPR 7. Kornet says all Operations should be over by the end of week.

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Donetsk Defense: Weekly Situation Report, 11/24/2017 / DONi News / November 24, 2017 / EXCERPTS: Good afternoon! The situation on the contact line remains tense. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy fired one 152-mm artillery projectile, 66 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres at nine localities’ adjacent areas. Grenade launchers and small arms were also applied. In the Mariupol direction, the AFU units fired 40 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres onto four localities’ areas, at that engaging fire with grenade launchers and small arms. In the Gorlovka direction, the enemy shelled three localities’ areas with grenade launchers and small arms. In total, over the past 24 hours, there were registered 25 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. . . .

In particular, the Ukrainian side, in violation of the Minsk agreements, seized Gladosovo locality in the ‘grey zone.’ Punishers from the 54th separate mechanized brigade and the 24th Aidar battalion broke into the village on the night of November 22, 2017 and began to threaten local residents with weapons, demanding from them to remain silent. At that, they tortured some of the residents. At the moment, our intelligence is aware of the true purpose of this provocation. In particular, up to two platoons of Ukrainian servicemen planned to temporarily gain a foothold in the village, and then to fire at the localities under their control the next day. The use of mortars was to be recorded by the film crews of western and Ukrainian TV channels that had arrived in the given area in advance. Accusations of the DPR Armed Forces of violating the Minsk agreements were to follow.

We do not exclude either that this provocation could be connection with information on the arrival of three trucks with Ukrainian servicemen dressed in Russian uniform at the area of Svetlodarsk locality, received from residents of the territories occupied by the AFU. We assume that the Ukrainian punishers’ shelling their territories and the activities in the territory of Ukraine of Ukrainian saboteurs, disguised in the uniform of the Russian standard, may be links of one chain. Along with that, our reconnaissance continues detecting the concentration of . . . READ FULL REPORT>>

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Ten Ukrainian saboteurs uncovered within the ranks of Donbass officials / Fort Russ / November 23, 2017 / Employees of the Ministry of State Security of the Donetsk People’s Republic, in a joint operation with the special services of the LPR, have detained ten Ukrainian saboteurs.

“As a result of joint operations, more than ten people were detained who are suspected of cooperating with Ukrainian special services” it was stated. According to the ministry, the members of the criminal group acted under the control of the command of 3 separate regiments of special purpose of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

The main task of the saboteurs was to prepare and conduct a number of sabotage and terrorist acts, to destabilize the political situation in the people’s republics. With this purpose, the special services of Ukraine, from among the LPR officials, carried out purposeful work to discredit the activities of local law enforcement agencies.

On November 23, news appeared that the head of the LPR, Igor Plotnitsky, had left for Russia, and government buildings were surrounded by armed officers. In the Kremlin, the situation in Lugansk has not been commented yet.

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DNR Accuses Ukrainian Detainees in Lugansk of Preparing Assassination Attempts / Gazeta.ru / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 24, 2017 / Detained on the eve in Lugansk, the military intelligence agents of Ukraine are suspected of preparing assassination attempts against several first persons of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, RIA Novosti reports, citing the press service of the Ministry of State Security of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR). “The MGB of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the MGB, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR) conducted a joint special operation in the territory of the Lugansk Republic to detain a sabotage group that acted on the instructions of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which detained more than 10 people. This group operated on the territory of both republics and is suspected of preparing assassination attempts against a number of the first persons of the LNR and DNR,” the report said.

The department noted that “this is not the only sabotage group created by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to conduct sabotage.” It is specified that part of this group was detained in Donetsk after an attempt to assassinate the vice premier of the DNR, Alexander Timofeev. “In this regard, it was decided to conduct a joint special operation to neutralize the second group of saboteurs operating on the territory of the republics,” explained the MGB DNR. Earlier, the Interior Minister of the self-proclaimed LNR, Igor Kornet, said that the special services neutralized in Lugansk a criminal group that operated under the control of Ukrainian intelligence.

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MGB of the DNR Prevents Attempt on Leadership of the Republic / Novorossiya Information Agency / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 24, 2017 / Agents of Ukrainian intelligence, who were detained in Lugansk on the eve of suspicion of preparing attacks on the leaders of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and the Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR), told reporters today in the MGB of the DNR. And on suspicion of cooperation with Ukrainian special services detained more than ten people. The operation was carried out jointly with the law enforcement officers of the LNR. Part of the group was detained in Donetsk after an attempt to assassinate the vice premier of the DNR, Alexander Timofeev. The department stressed that this group was not the only one that was overseen by Ukrainian military intelligence. “In this regard, it was decided to conduct a joint special operation to neutralize the second group of saboteurs operating on the territory of the republics,” the DNR Ministry of State Security said. The investigation continues, the security forces are looking for possible accomplices of saboteurs. Yesterday, the MGB of the DNR confirmed the liquidation of saboteurs in Lugansk. Earlier it was reported that on 22 November the LNR security forces neutralized Ukrainian saboteurs in Lugansk. The saboteurs prepared terrorist acts, planned to destabilize the political situation in the republics. Tasks for them came from the command of the third separate regiment of special forces of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

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“Return to Rhetoric of Novorossiya” – Bortnik Names Three Scenarios for Situation in LPR, Including “Most Dangerous” for Kiev / AntiMayden.info / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 23, 2017 / The development of the situation in Lugansk can occur in three scenarios, depending on the course chosen for Ukraine. This opinion was broadcast on the Ukrainian news channel NewsOne by the Kiev political scientist Ruslan Bortnik. Course in relation to Ukraine: According to Bortnik, the situation in the LPR [Lugansk People’s Republic] reflects the “confrontation of different groups of influence,” and this is not a confrontation for the sake of money or in favor of certain figures in the administration of the republic. “This is a confrontation over the course that will be chosen against Ukraine in the near future, perhaps it will be a course towards demilitarization and certain concessions within the framework of the Minsk agreements, perhaps it will be a course toward a violent resolution of the conflict and attempts to push Ukraine to agreements even more difficult for it,” said the Ukrainian expert. Bortnik does not believe that Plotnitsky can be removed, since his signature is under Minsk agreements, however, he does not exclude that the head of the LNR [LPR] would like to limit the power. According to him, the least profitable turn of events for Kiev would be the victory of “hawks”, calling for escalation on the line of demarcation. At the same time, the political scientist assumes that the parties are likely to agree. “The most likely scenario today is that at some point the sides of this confrontation will agree and conclude that there was nothing, especially since there are no human or material losses until that time.” The authority of Plotnitsky will be limited, and in politics will remain the same as it is,” Bortnik pointed out the first scenario.

The Party of Russia and the “party of war”: “A less likely scenario is if the political party of Russia wins, and provisionally speaking, this crisis in Lugansk will lead to Russia and certain regions of Donetsk and Lugansk regions making the first concessions within the framework of the Minsk agreements, and we will have a window for reintegration of Donbass,” said the political scientist, as the most desirable option for Kiev. “An even less likely scenario, but the most dangerous scenario is that the “war party” will win, there can be a unification of these territories into one under the leadership of the same Zakharchenko, for example, a return to the rhetoric of Novorossiya and attempts to create a military crisis, which modeled on Debaltsevo or the airport (Donetsk – the FBA) would push Ukraine to implement the Minsk agreements in an unprofitable interpretation or to new agreements that are even more unprofitable to date,” Bortnik said.

In his opinion, Kiev can not use the situation in any way, as its interference in the affairs of the LNR would only discredit the side with which it would be willing to agree. “Regarding our prospects in this situation, they are very limited,” Bortnik believes. Recall that earlier Ukrainian nationalists called on the president of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko “not to miss the opportunity” in Lugansk, and the detached head of the Interior Ministry of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Igor Kornet said that in the republic saboteurs were caught who were connected with local officials.

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Igor Kornet

Lugansk Republic President flees to Moscow, Interior Minister now in charge / By Paul Robinson / RussiaFeed / November 24, 2017 / The political shenanigans in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) in Eastern Ukraine took a new turn today when LPR President Igor Plotnitsky fled the republic and turned up in Moscow. Power in Lugansk now rests firmly in the hands of LPR Interior Minister Igor Kornet, who continues to insist that he doesn’t intend to overthrow Plotnitsky, merely rid the republic of traitors in the President’s entourage. Kornet’s forces have arrested a number of senior LPR officials, accusing them of working secretly for the Ukrainian government in Kiev and of preparing to betray the LPR to the Ukrainian Army. I don’t believe it. My impression is that in the LPR treason is what you accuse your opponents of when you want an excuse to get rid of them. Be that as it may, the events in the LPR put the Russian government in something of a pickle. As I mentioned in my previous post, Moscow isn’t in full control of events in Donbass. But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have any say in what goes on, nor does it mean that it can just ignore what happens there. It seems to me that it has the following options: – Recognize that Plotnitsky is a busted flush, discard him, and back Kornet. So far, the Russian government is insisting that what happens in Lugansk is an internal matter for the LPR. Maintaining this line would in effect amount to endorsing Kornet’s coup. The question would then arise of how to find a new President and who it should be. – Try and work out some solution which returns Plotnitsky to Lugansk as President, but which in effect makes him little more . . . READ MORE>>Quemado Institute comments: It doesn’t appear that Plotnitsky “fled” to Moscow, but that he simply went there, judging by Prilepin’s description. Lugansk has been peaceful through this attempted coup, and there is no evidence Plotnitsky was threatened or in danger.

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Mikhail D. on Twitter
November 23, 2017Click to enlarge.
“Here’s the map of the territory that was taken during the offensive of the
Ukrainian Army yesterday (nov.22) in the Svitlodarsk Bulge in #Donbas.”

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OSCE warns of a possible escalation of conflict in Donbass / Essence of Time / November 24, 2017 / The Principal Deputy Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine Alexander Hug warned the parties to the conflict of a possible escalation of the armed conflict in Donbass, Deutsche Welle reported on November 24. According to Alexander Hug, the escalation of the armed conflict is due to the cold weather that has come, because frozen ground unfortunately makes moving heavy weapons easier. He also lamented that in the recent weeks the ceasefire was violated increasingly often.

The situation in Donbass plunged into crisis in the past several days. According to a number of media outlets, a conflict happened between the Leader of the Republic Igor Plotnitsky and the fired Minister of Internal Affairs of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) Igor Kornet. Reportedly, the building of the Prosecutor General’s Office was assaulted on November 22. The Ministry of State Security of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) reported a joint operation with the law enforcement officials of the LPR which neutralized a group of persons suspected of connections with Ukrainian intelligence. On November 23, some media reported that Igor Plotnitsky arrived to Moscow; however, this information has been neither confirmed nor denied officially. –-Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

Situation in Donbass to ‘explode’ if US sends offensive weapons to Kiev – Russian MP / DONi News (from Sputnik) / November 23, 2017 / Kiev has been seeking the supplies of US lethal weapons, but officially Washington officially only supplies Ukrainian authorities with uniforms, equipment, and training of the National Guard soldiers. The situation in Ukraine will sharply deteriorate if the United States chooses to deliver offensive weapons to Kiev, Vladimir Shamanov, head of the Russian lower house’s defense committee told Sputnik on Sunday. “These Klimkin’s ‘wishes’ sharply destabilize the more or less set state of affairs in the zone of the [Donbass] conflict, which can be controlled, at least to a certain extent, by the international organizations and local residents. The equipment which he listed is offensive, and, of course, this will affect negatively all the parties to the process, political, diplomatic, not even mentioning the military ones … This will not just complicate the situation [in Ukraine], this will explode the situation,” Shamanov said. If the United States does choose . . . READ MORE>>

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Thursday, November 23, 2017
(Brief update)

Lugansk: Igor Kornet is in charge / By Alexander Zhuchkovskiy (Ruskline.ru), translated by Tom Winter / Fort Russ / November 23, 2017 / According to the latest data, the situation is as follows. Kornet completely controls Lugansk, Plotnitsky is in the Russian Federation and is feverishly negotiating about his future in the LPR. His political destiny has not been finally resolved. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the MGB insists on the complete elimination of Plotnitsky, Moscow is inclined to leave him the nominal head of the republic until the next elections, with the actual absence of real power.

If this option is confirmed tomorrow, Plotnitsky will make a statement explaining what is happening about the work of Ukrainian agents in the higher echelons of power (ie, apparently confirm what Kornet said today). Otherwise, Plotnitsky will probably not return to the Lugansk Peoples Republic.

Moscow unequivocally sided with Kornet, and the DPR also supported him, sending significant help to Lugansk to prevent the revenge of Plotnitsky. Kornet received permission from the Russian Federation to clean up Plotnitsky’s people in all government bodies in the Lugansk People’s Republic. What can now be said unequivocally: Kornet won, Plotnitsky completely lost, Moscow’s trust and control over Lugansk. On the merger of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic, it is not yet a question. Quemado Institute update, November 24: In light of breaking news that Leonid Pacechnik is now acting head of the LPR, it is now unclear what Kornet’s role will be.

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Igor Plotnitsky (–02Varvara.wordpress)

Mass media: Head of LNR Plotnitsky left for Russia / VzGlyad / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 23, 2017 / An automobile cortege with the head of the LNR Igor Plotnitsky, the head of his administration Irina Teizman, the head of the GPTK LNR Anastasia Shurkaeva left Lugansk for Russia, the media reported. Government buildings in Lugansk cordoned off by armed people, among them, according to unconfirmed reports, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Luganks People’s Republic and the MGB of the Donetsk [misprint? – QI editor] People’s Republic, reports Novaya Gazeta. Earlier on Thursday, the head of the Interior Ministry of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Igor Cornet, issued another statement, saying that the special services of the Lugansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic defused a criminal group in Lugansk that operated under the control of Ukrainian intelligence. Earlier, Cornet announced the detention of Teizman and Shurkaeva. In Donetsk, they also announced the suppression of the activities of the main members of the criminal group. The special services of the DNR state that Ukrainian saboteurs tried to discredit the activities of law enforcement agencies and special services of the Donbass republics. Sources say that there is an attempt of coup d’état in LNR. On Monday, Plotnitsky dismissed Cornet, but the next day in the center of Lugansk appeared military equipment and armed people who obey the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On Wednesday in Lugansk, the building of the Prosecutor General’s Office was stormed. Quemado Institute comments: The claim that Plotnitsky has gone to Russia with Teizman and Shurkaeva has not been verified by trustworthy sources.

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Head of LNR Igor Plotnitsky left Lugansk for Russia / Novaya Gazeta / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 23, 2017 / An automobile cortege in which the head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) Igor Plotnitsky, the head of his administration, Irina Teizman, the head of the State Television and Radio Company of the Lugansk People’s Republic Anastasia Shurkaeva and a number of other persons left the territory of Lugansk for Russia. Government buildings are still surrounded by armed people, among whom, presumably, the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Ministry of State Security of the neighboring Donetsk People’s Republic. Recall that on the eve of the dismissed Minister of Internal Affairs of the LNR Igor Kornet refused to leave his post and published a video message in which he said that some high-ranking figures of the self-proclaimed republic, including Teizman and Shurkaev, are agents of the Ukrainian special services. In the evening on Tuesday a column of dozens of military vehicles from Donetsk entered into Lugansk. Subsequently, the MGB of the Donetsk People’s Republic officially recognized that it was conducting a joint special operation against the “Ukrainian saboteurs” with the SLM security officials. Note that Moscow has not officially commented on what is happening in Lugansk. Quemado Institute comments: The claim that Teizman and Shurkaeva, whom Kornet calls Ukrainian agents, left Lugansk with Plotnitsky has not been confirmed by trustworthy sources. At least one possibly reliable Twitter source Andrey Davydov has called these Russian media stories “fake news”. Pete John (see below) reports via Twitter that Ruskaya Vesna news agency sources say Plotnitsky was still in Lugansk at 13:00 UTC today.

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Pete John on Twitter
November 23, 2017 14:00 UTC
“This ‘Russian Spring’ [Russkaya Vesna news agency] was told by its own sources in the power structures of the Lugansk Republic: About an hour ago, Igor Plotnitsky left the administration building with protection. His motorcade moved east, where his house was. There were no obstacles to his departure.”

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Unexpected development of Lugansk political crisis: 3rd day report / DONi News / November 23, 2017 / The 3rd day of the Lugansk government crisis passes calmly in the streets of the LPR capital. The parties to the standoff have published new statements, but no settlement has yet been reached at the cabinet level. The Head of State, Igor Plotnitsky, is still in charge of the Republic and the previously dismissed Minister of the Interior seems to preserve control over the notable state security apparatus. New and rather unexpected information concerning the Ukrainian involvement in creating the standoff has appeared, shedding light on the complicated nature of the root of the crisis, which has unquestionably made it much harder to find a solution to the already developed volatile situation in the Republic. Thus, the evening of Wednesday, November 22, was abundant in statements by the parties to the political standoff in Lugansk. The Head of the LPR, Igor Plotnitsky, gave a press-conference, addressing residents of the Republic and those following the situation in the state from abroad, namely, the Russian Federation, with a call “not to believe whatever is published on the Internet,” despite the rumours spread by both internal and external enemies of the Republic. The Head of State promised that the situation would be settled soon, as power structures of the Republic were actively working on it. Later on the day, Igor Kornet also gave a press-conference, during which he answered questions of Russian and foreign journalists. According to him, at the moment, measures and search activities are being implemented in the LPR to eliminate the remains of a large sabotage and reconnaissance group that has infiltrated the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic. “It is high time the operational development, conducted jointly with the State Security Ministry of the LPR, was completed,” he said, adding that in the course of this long-lasting development “there had been identified numerous agents of influence of the Ukrainian special services, who had penetrated deeply into the authorities of the Republic.” Kornet emphasised that “the rule of law had not been violated in the Lugansk People’s Republic,” as all the power-wielding structures of the Republic were working “jointly as a single force.” We can arrive at the conclusion that the nature of the government crisis comes more and more clear on the 3rd day of the political argument. The most important thing is to understand that the standoff in Lugansk is a highly internal affair, bearing signs of previous external impact, exerted by the common enemy of the state. We should not . . . READ MORE>>[Substantial article at source.]Quemado Institute comments: This DONi News report, unlike at least three reports we’ve seen in the Russian media, makes no mention of Plotnitsky having left for Russia today accompanied by presumed Ukrainian agents Shurkaev and Teizman.

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Conflicting Reports on Plotnitsky’s Whereabouts / Quemado Institute / November 23, 2017 / At least three Russian news agencies have reported today that LPR Head Igor Plotnitsky left in a motorcade for Russia with two presumed Ukrainian agents and former LPR officials Irina Teizman and Anastasia Shurkaeva (see two articles above). Other reports contradict this. DONi News makes no mention of Plotnitsky’s alleged flight to Russia (see article above), while Twitter source Andrey Davydov calls the Russian reports “fake news”. Pete John, a known reliable pro-Donbass Twitter source, seems to contradict himself on the matter of Plotnitsky’s whereabouts. On the one hand, John tweeted at about 16:00 UTC [edited]: “According to Major-General Igor Kornet, LNR, Lugansk was 2 weeks away from a major disaster because of treasonous actions of a certain group of High ranking officials, including Plotnitskiy, who’s accused of collusion and has run.” Along with this tweet, John posted the image shown here, which gives a story roughly the same as those in the Russian media. Contradicting this, Pete John said in another tweet at about 14:00 UTC today (see above) that sources at Ruskaya Vesna report Plotnitsky left the administration building and is now at his home in Lugansk.

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November 22, 2017 (Full Report)

Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 11/22/2017 / DONi News / November 22, 2017 / The situation on the contact line remains tense. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy fired 57 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibre on eight localities, as well as resorted to grenade launchers and small arms. In the Mariupol direction, the AFU attacked Leninskoye locality, having launched five mortar rounds of 120-mm calibre on the settlement, as well as resorted to various grenade launchers and small arms. In the Gorlovka direction, the enemy fired five mortar shells of 82-mm calibre at the locality of Dolomotnoye, as well as applied grenade launchers and small arms. In total, over the past 24 hours, 23 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. As a result of the shelling by Ukrainian punishers of Dokuchayevsk, female civilian Goncharenko Tatyana Vladimirovna, born in 1965, received a fragmentation wound of the thorax at the address: Lenina Street, 26/20, apt. 4. Besides, according to updated data, 17 housing constructions sustained damage because of the shelling of the AFU. We’re receiving alarming messages from residents living in the territory temporarily occupied by the AFU. Yesterday, according to their data, three trucks were seen moving with the personnel, dressed in a military uniform of the Russian model, from Artyomovsk area in the area of Svetlodarsk. In addition, according to our reconnaissance, in the area of Svetlodarsk, the film crews of Western and Ukrainian television channels have now arrived to prepare the staged video material. Directions for ensuring the work of foreign journalists are given directly by the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In this connection, we do not exclude the provocations of the Ukrainian siloviki on the contact line, which have the goal of preparing fabricated evidence of the presence of Russian troops in the Donbass, and use their fakes to justify aggression against the republics. We appeal to the OSCE Mission with a request to help prevent illegal actions by the Ukrainian forces, destabilizing the situation in the area. Also, we continue recording the massing of prohibited weapons of the AFU near the contact line. In particular, our reconnaissance marks the move to the area of Krasnogorovka village (north of Avdeyevka) of the 1 howitzer battalion of the 55th separate artillery brigade. We have identified the location of six units of large calibre artillery hidden in the private sector of the village and agricultural buildings, located near, eight kilometers from the contact line. According to information from sources in the 25 separate airborne brigade, the units of the 1st howitzer battalion are being prepared to be used in the interests of the criminal command of the airborne brigade. —Vice-Commander of the DPR People’s Militia, Colonel Eduard Basurin, official translation by DONi News Agency Quemado Institute comments: Yesterday and today, enemy Twitter sources have been falsely reporting an invasion of Russian military convoys and tanks into Lugansk. Even Statfor (a US quasi-think tank) has alleged today that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko “is monitoring Luhansk region after Russian tanks move in, Kyiv Post reported Nov. 22.” These fake allegations may be in response to, or in collusion with, the staged operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is apparently setting up manufactured evidence of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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APU Militants Seize Village Near Gorlovka / Novorossiya Information Agency / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 22, 2017 / According to the press service of the Armed Forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic, on the night of November 22, Ukrainian armed forces [APU or UAF], in particular the Nazi battalion Aidar, captured the village of Gladosovo near Gorlovka. This was reported by the correspondent of IA “Novorossiya”, referring to the press service of the Supreme Soviet of the Donetsk People’s Republic. “Tonight, on Gorlovskoe direction, there was an outrageous case of bullying by units of 54 ombre and 24 battalions “Aidar” over residents of the village of Gladosovo, located near the settlement Zaitsevo. The abductors broke into the village under cover of night and blocked each house, banning local residents from leaving their homes under the threat of using weapons. From the residents of the village receive alarming calls for help and reporting on the facts of outrage from the nationalistically-minded units of the Armed Forces,” the report said. The defense department noted that the punitive units in the residential areas of the settlement had placed mortar guns to fire near the lying settlements of the Republic. And they are also engaged in mining the approaches to the village. The fact of the military presence in the territory of Gladosovo was confirmed, including by the Ukrainian “volunteer”, an accomplice of militants Mysiagin on his Facebook page. “We regard these actions by Ukrainian law enforcers as the taking of civilians by terrorists, this is a gross violation of the Minsk accords, although the Deputy Head of the OSCE in Ukraine, Alexander Hug, is on a visit to the Dniester region,” said the press service of the Armed Forces DNR. Earlier it was reported that in the DNR they do not agree with the report of the OSCE mission on firing the filtering station. Recall also that the Ukrainian militants fired 65 minutes on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic for the past day. Meanwhile, OSCE observers fixed a column of military equipment, which was first seen near Debaltsevo, then, according to the OSCE, it is likely that the same column was heading towards Lugansk.

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Ukrainian Armed Forces Occupy Village of Gladosovo / By Colonel Cassad / Cassad LiveJournal / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 22, 2017 / On the situation with the capture of the village of Gladosovo. 1. In the afternoon, reports began to come that the APU had advanced on the Svetlodar arc. Volodyar Mysyagin said that the APU took “several villages” in the Svetlodar arc. Later, information about the loss of one settlement appeared in the public places of the supporting DNR. The command of ATU the fact of advancement of the 54th ombre and occupation of the villages denied. 2. Here it is worth noting the delirium of the allegations that “using the disorder in the LNR, SBU dealt a blow.” The region under consideration is in the zone of responsibility of the 1st Army Corps of the DNR, which practically does not depend on whether Cornet rules Lugansk or Plotnitsky. So the reasons are likely to be different. If nothing has changed there, then parts of the 3rd brigade of the army of the DNR and BTRO were observed in this direction. However, this does not negate the obvious intentions of the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to take advantage of the chaos in Lugansk in order to find weaknesses in the construction of army corps in the rear of which a mess is created. 3. By the evening, the DMDD confirmed that the village of Gladosovo, which was occupied by Aidar and the 54th ombre, was lost, after which they brought a standard bodyguard about the fact that “the junta violates the Minsk agreements” and that the punishers mock the local population, at that time as the Donbass came “the Hug itself.” Never such was not and here again. It’s time to understand that Hug will not protect the peaceful inhabitants of the Donbass. Minsk will not protect them either. Only the armed strength of the army corps can protect them. In addition, from the Ukrainian side there are statements that the village of Gravyonoe is also occupied (it was marked on maps as controversial, located in the gray areas), but this is not confirmed by the DNR yet. 4. The village itself, judging by the description of the events on both sides, appeared to be in the gray zone and was occupied by the APU without any significant battles, in any case, the parties on this issue are not particularly affected, which indicates rather that no serious defense of the village was not in principle and it actually was in the gray zone. There is a high probability that the situation with the settlement of Novoluganskoye (which is located on the same section of the front) is repeated, and the occupation of which was once served as an unprecedented overhaul https://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3146470.html and where the 54th OMR was also noted. 5. The intensification of hostilities in this direction has been noted for several days: 6. In addition, the DMDD said that on the highway Artemovsk-Svetlodorsk, 3 trucks with personnel dressed in a Russian military uniform were seen and warned of a possible provocation with disguise. 7. Since this is not a DFS, the APU will try not to leave the village, moving the front closer to Zaitsevo and Golmanovsky, and also increasing the pressure on the Dolomite. The classic struggle for neutrality and pressure on the front of the DNR, which will continue until the Supreme Armed Forces receive enough fire resistance to stop these attempts. There is nothing new in this, but the command of the 1st AK will have to decide – either to reconcile with the loss of neutrals in this direction, or to tighten the reserves to Golmanovsky and proceed to extrude the 54th ombre from occupied areas. [Two videos available at source.]

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Ukrainian Army Advances into DPR / Pete John on Twitter / November 22, 2017 / According to reliable Donbass expert Pete John, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (APU) and Aidar Battalion have advanced on the Donetsk People’s Republic in the area of Gorlovka. Pete John tweets at about 14:30 UTC: “#Ukrainians took advantage of the chaos in Lugansk and went on the offensive. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) launched an offensive in the area of Svetlodarsk on the contact line with the Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR). / #Donetsk, Volvo Center and Airport-YABP: battles, mortars and artillery work! Gorlovka: APU attacked position of militia and seized village of Metallist near Gorlovka. APU and Aidar advance from yesterday, actively occupy the gray zone near Gorlovka and Svetlodarsk.” Pete John tweets again at about 15:00 UTC: “The situation in the #Donbass: VSUshniki arbitrarily occupied the Mettalist and went on the offensive near Svetlodarsk. The battalion commander asked Zakharchenko take control via YouTube: http://youtu.be/ZikEbPaB7PU.”

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Ukrainians took advantage of the chaos in Lugansk and went on the offensive / Lenta.ru / Autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 22, 2017 / The Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) launched an offensive in the Svetlodarsk region on the line of contact with the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LCN). On Wednesday, November 22, on his Facebook page, [enemy] Ukrainian volunteer Yury Mysyagin wrote. “As a result of the sudden military actions of our units, several villages were liberated, and several strategic heights were also taken under our control. As a result of this operation, we have new positions a few square kilometers in size, on which we have already successfully consolidated,” Mysyagin said. He added that the operation involved servicemen of the 54th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces and the Aidar assault battalion. There is no evidence or refutation of this information from the LCN. / On the afternoon of November 22, it was reported that the building of the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Lugansk People’s Republic had been seized by unknown security officials. The head of the republic, Igor Plotnitsky, accused the former interior minister Igor Cornet of attempting a coup. Armed people without identification signs captured the center of Lugansk in the afternoon of November 21. They blocked the entrances and exits from the administrative buildings. It was noted that unknown persons also occupied the building of the Concern for Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communication and Television in Lugansk.

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(–Yakovenko Vyacheslav/Rossa Primavera News Agency)

Lugansk Prosecutor General’s Office assaulted / By Bill Oliver / Essence of Time / November 22, 2017 17:00 UTC / DONETSK PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC / The building of the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) was assaulted at 11:50 (local time), a source reported on November 22, Delovoy Portal DNR Live reports. Reportedly, the building was assaulted by 200 people. As a result of the action, the Acting Prosecutor General of the Republic Vitaly Podobry and the Military Department Director Sergey Rakhno were escorted out of the building. A conflict in the Lugansk People’s Republic began after the Republic’s Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Kornet was dismissed, and unidentified armed people encircled the center of Lugansk. Essence of Time Editorial comment: The political crisis in the LPR plays in the Ukrainian junta’s favor. The conflict between Kornet and Plotnitsky can result in the dismissal of one of the signatories to the Minsk agreements from governing the Republic. This can become an excuse for the Ukrainian junta to question the Minsk agreements. Intriguingly, the President of Russia said that he would not allow the Minsk agreements to be broken down, thus taking personal responsibility for the resolution thereunder. An increased activity around this conflict on the part of oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, who bought the Ukraine’s national debt and who is thus interested that Ukraine can pay it, suggests that another attempt to give up Donbass and carry out a coup d’etat in Russia may be prepared. —Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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Lugansk standoff continue: Report on the situation 2nd day / DONi News / November 22, 2017 / The second day of the crisis in the Lugansk People’s Republic started and continued in a relatively calm atmosphere on Wednesday, November 22. The standoff between the Head of the Republic and the ex-Minister of the Interior will have been lasting two days and nights already. As reported earlier, the first evening and night were calm in the LPR capital, Lugansk. [link] The forces supporting the conflicting sides [link] have preserved heavy presence in the city streets, but no signs of confrontation have been witnessed. Today, on November 22 morning, the Head of the LPR Igor Plotnitsky published a video statement in which he confirmed that Igor Kornet had been dismissed from the position of the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic. Some news resources have started spreading stovepiping saying that the previous statement by Plotnitsky had been written not by the Head of the Republic, but his Administration due to his leave for the Russian Federation. Despite all the rumours, on Wednesday it became clear that the situation was still under control of the government, and the Head of State was at place, giving instructions on further settlement. November 22 began with expecting official statements from both parties to the conflict, as well as those from abroad, like Russia and the Donetsk People’s Republic. Only lots of rumours have been spread recently, for instance, those concerning the involvement in the developments of the third parties, namely, the Kremlin authorities and the DPR Head, Alexander Zakharchenko. The known fact is that neither of these accusations, claims, libelling have any official grounds. We are still waiting for further statements by the dismissed LPR Interior Minister Igor Kornet, official commentaries on the part of the Donetsk People’s Republic, as well as from the Russian Federation. Armed Forces will have been present in the Lugansk capital for the second night. The people of the Donbass, as well as local media, are expecting . . . READ MORE>>

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OSCE SMM – Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine / OSCE Facebook / November 22, 2017 14:30 UTC / The #OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) continues to note the presence of military-type vehicles and unidentified armed men – many of them with white arm-bands and covered faces – in the centre of #Luhansk city. The SMM observed overall calm situation in the city. While conducting a patrol, however, the SMM was denied access by unidentified armed men to the intersection of Lermontova and Radianska streets. The OSCE SMM Principal Deputy Chief Monitor arrived in Luhansk to join his colleagues in monitoring the situation. Established facts will be included in our daily reports available in three languages on the OSCE website >> http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/reports.

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Igor Plotnitsky

Igor Plotnitsky Meets with Journalists / Glava-LNR.su / Autotranslated by Quemado Institute / November 22, 2017 / Today, the Head of the Luhansk People’s Republic Igor Plotnitsky met with journalists, during which representatives of foreign media were able to ask questions concerning the situation in the capital of the republic. “As in any legal and civilized country, the decision of the court is final in the republic,” the head of the republic addressed the journalists. “Igor Cornet was removed from his post, but the small man was amazed with big ambitions. For some reason he decided that the court’s decision was not a decree for him. “To date, we see a situation that is not developing very well for him, we are very closely following it. Any power that does not have the platform of the law is called lawlessness. In the near future in this case will be put a point. All power structures are engaged in this,” said Igor Plotnitsky. Also, the Head of the Luhansk People’s Republic noted that the range of insinuations went beyond the case connected with Igor Cornet. “The theme is being discussed that, as Cornet says, everyone became ‘dill’. The team of people that everyone saw for three years, was engaged in the restoration of the Luhansk People’s Republic. Everything that is created is created not without the help of these people. This situation is trying to build up like a snowball, and you see that in this snowball they try to throw dirt more and more so that no one can tell where is white and where is black. The people of Luhansk and the leadership of the republic have always adhered to the line of return to the Russian Federation, for us lawlessness is unacceptable, and the rule of law is the norm,” the head of the republic said. In addition, Igor Plotnitsky appealed to all residents of the Luhansk People’s Republic. “Once again I want to appeal to the residents of the Luhansk People’s Republic, and to those who follow the events on the territory of Russia. Do not believe everything published on the Internet. I regret that for today LNR became a platform for insinuations, but, on the other hand, means somewhere we seriously advanced if we are so wanted to make enemies. I think that both the People’s Council and the Council of Ministers have already proved by their deeds that our way has been determined, it has been repeatedly voiced. We go only to Russia.” Addressing the inhabitants of the republic, Igor Plotnitsky also stressed that he did not leave the territory of the republic. “I did not go anywhere and in the near future I do not plan. Every inhabitant of the Lugansk People’s Republic, who at least once came across me at the checkpoint, knows that I, like any other citizen, stand in line and cross the border like everyone else, that’s why everyone sees when I leave and when I come.” Also, the head of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Igor Plotnitsky, told journalists whether the events taking place today in the republic are an attempt at a coup d’état. “Yes, we say so. And what forces are involved in this, we will continue to look and understand. How else can you call the situation when a person is suspended by the court from his position, but at the same time he tries to conduct some sort of operations by force. This is an attempt to seize power. But it did not work for anyone and will not work out now.”

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Pete John on Twitter
November 22, 2017 15:30 UTC
#Donetsk People’s Republic – A message from DNR 24:Click to enlarge.Pete John Twitter Update
November 22, 2017 18:00 UTC
“22.11.17. Message from the militia A. Zhuchkovsky. #Plotnitsky as of 20:00 is not blocked in the administration building or elsewhere, he freely moves, but has no control over the power structures.”

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Igor Plotnitsky (–Sergey Bobkov, Twitter)

Is This a Coup to Overthrow Plotnitsky? / By Quemado Institute / November 22, 2017 / Twitter sources are speculating that the events in Lugansk yesterday indicate a coup against Lugansk People’s Republic leader Igor Plotnitsky. Some quote rumors that he has fled to Russia, others express hope he will be removed from office. Prominent pro-Donbass Twitter source @OceanEchoes reports in several tweets between 15:00 – 19:00 UTC today: “Plotnitsky only survived last year’s coup attempt because Zakharachenko sent Motorola in with his battalion. Now again it is Zakharchenko propping up Plotnitsky. / PLOTNITSKY IS NOTHING LESS THAN A GANGSTER. HE IS A GREEDY, CORRUPT, THIEVING, LYING, MURDERING TRAITOR WHO HUNG ON TO POWER IN 2016 BY VIOLENCE. HIS TIME HAS COME. I HOPE HE FALLS. / Murdered with others on the road between Pervomaisk and Stakhanov, Pavel Dremov, hero of Novorossiya, Cossack, colleague of Evgeny Ishchenko, anti-Plotnitsky, anti-Minsk, pro-Novorossiya. He had just got married. He knew the truth about Plotnitsky. / Alexei Mozgovoi. Murdered for opposing Plotnitsky. He died with his friends. One, Anna, was 7 months pregnant. NOONE has forgotten what the fat bastard oligarch filth in Lugansk did. We REMEMBER. His time has come. / Murdered by Plotnitsky’s thugs after calling him and Zakharchenko traitors on tv. Evegeny Ishchenko, Mayor of Pervomaisk, memory eternal. / Alexander Bednov, Batman, one of the greatest military leaders of Novorossiya. Murdered with others in Lugansk Gangster’s Republic. Plotnitsky, your time has come. You will pay. / Batman, Alexander Bednov, was more than just a soldier. He was a politician and humanitarian. He knew about Plotnitsky’s crimes.” Recall that many pro-Donbass observers believe Igor Plotnitsky was responsible for the assassinations of Novorossiya heroes Commander Alexey Mozgovoy, Pavel Dremov, Evgeny Ishchenko and Commander Alexander Bednov. Meanwhile in several tweets at about 18:00 UTC today, Twitter source Sergey Bobkov has this to say about Plotnitsky and the ongoing coup attempt: “Lugansk: reports indicate that Kornet controls virtually 100% of LPR security services, Plotnitsky is a lame duck at best, now in Russia seeking last ounces of legitimacy. It was also confirmed that Donetsk republican guard is backing Kornet as well. / UPDATE: Plotnitksy was seeking support in Russia but didn’t get any, now back in Lugansk, trying to figure out what to do next. All security services are pro-Kornet, so all he can do now is host irrelevant media briefings. Plotnitsky is NOT under arrest. / Plotnitsky has a negative reputation. In my personal opinion he is just a low IQ bum, but extremely well connected. I can’t say anything about him being corrupt or his ties to SBU — both are obviously possible. His only redeeming quality is that he did a lot for LPR. / Kremlin did not formally announce who they are backing. So the de-facto bloodless overthrowing of Plotnitsky is successful and complete, but everybody is looking at Moscow to seal the deal. We’ll know more by end of this week. FSB vs GRU at play here.” Note the enemy is also claiming this is an FSB vs. GRU power struggle, so Bobkov’s latter statement may be false rumor or speculation. It is unclear how much involvement Moscow has in this attempted coup. Maybe none (see TASS articles below). Bobkov continues at 19:00 UTC with: “Lugansk: Plotnitsky’s personal guard detachment is nowhere to be found. They are not stationed at their usual location, and do not respond to radio call signs. If this is not a sign of complete victory of Kornet, I don’t know what is.” Expert source Gracchus Babeuf adds via Twitter at about 18:10 UTC: “Plotnitskiy wasn’t detained at the border, but he didn’t get what he was after in Russia. He returned to Lugansk to try & settle matters by himself, however none of the republic’s power structures supports him any longer.” At the end of the day, British Journalist and local Donbass reporter Graham Phillips sums up the coup attempt in a tweet at 19:30 UTC: “Over in #Lugansk the day ends with both Kornet – challenger, to say – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXNL5fXDaSU … – and Plotnitsky, incumbent, giving rival press conferences – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz9cR1f4PlI … – both claiming to be in control and that they will ‘resolve situation soon’.” Ominously, at about 19:00 UTC, Novorossiya supporter and Plotnitsky critic Vladimir Suchan tweets the unthinkable: “An explosion in Lugansk reported as Plotnitsky is believed to have been removed. ” Reliable Twitter source Maurice Schleepen confirms the explosion: “Breaking At 21:20 in Luganst LPR territory an explosion was audible, Military officers and local residents reported.” And with all the speculation, several Twitter sources are expressing hope the DPR and LPR will join as a single country. Pete John tweets at 19:00 UTC: “Zatulin: The merger of the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Lugansk as a result of current events is quite possible Many people are very surprised that LC and DNR exist separately. / LETS HOPE THEY UNITE. Will the intra-elite conflict in the LNR lead to the unification of Novorossia?” [Photos: Alexey Mozgovoy, middle; Pavel Dremov, bottom]

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Kremlin refutes media rumors of Moscow allegedly ‘backing’ political forces in Lugansk / TASS / November 22, 2017 / MOSCOW / A Kremlin official dismissed as totally untrue media reports, citing officials close to Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov, about the Kremlin’s alleged “support of certain political forces” in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine. “No source from Vladislav Surkov’s circle could say such a thing, because the events in Lugansk are a domestic matter of the LPR, and no one from Lugansk has ever sought support from the Kremlin,” said Mikhail Arutyunov, the head of the presidential administration’s department on social and economic cooperation with states members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia. Tuesday’s report by RBC cited a source close to Surkov as saying that Moscow allegedly supported the LPR interior minister in his standoff with the republic’s chief. [Photo: Vladimir Gerdo/TASS]

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Vladimir Putin (–Alexei Druzhinin/Russian Presid’l Press)

Putin’s sway on Donbass overestimated — Kremlin / TASS / November 16, 2017 / MOSCOW / Russian President Vladimir Putin does have certain influence on the leaders of the self-proclaimed republics in Donbass, but it is not infinite, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the media about Wednesday’s telephone conversation the Russian leader held with the heads of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics. Asked if the president by doing so might have violated the principle Russia was not a party to the conflict in Ukraine, Peskov replied: “By no means.” “We have no leverage to put pressure on these unrecognized republics. We have no opportunity to give instructions to anyone there, because these republics live their own lives. But the president has never made a secret of his ability to address them with calls and to cause certain influence – not infinite, of course. Only to a certain extent,” Peskov said. Putin used that influence in response to a call from Ukraine’s special representative for humanitarian affairs Viktor Medvedchuk for promoting an exchange of prisoners of war and the approval of that idea by Patriarch Kirill, of Moscow and All Russia. Peskov confirmed that in the telephone conversations with the Donetsk and Lugansk leaders Putin mentioned an idea of a large-scale exchange of persons held prisoner on both sides “to meet with the understanding of both parties, on the condition though, that the details are still to be agreed with the Ukrainian side.” “Putin did not hear a refusal,” Peskov said, adding that the hope was expressed for coordinating the details of such an exchange with Kiev. Asked by a Ukrainian journalist why the report about that conversation, published on the Kremlin’s website, did not contain the adjective “unrecognized” in relation to the two republics in question, Peskov said, “These republics are called that way [Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic -TASS] and their names on the Kremlin’s website have remained unchanged all the way.”

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November 21, 2017 (Brief Update)

Lugansk today (–DONi News)

Events in Lugansk Still Unclear / Quemado Institute / November 21, 2017 / Enemy sources report an “invasion” of the Lugansk People’s Republic by either “Russian” forces or units from the neighboring Donetsk People’s Republic. Others quote rumors of a coup against LPR President Igor Plotnitsky. What has actually occurred is still unclear. British journalist and Donbass expert Graham Phillips tweeted at 16:30 UTC today: “The day ends in #Lugansk with an unclear picture as to what has happened there, and who’s in control now, with multiple different, often contradictory reports, including as to the whereabouts of Plotnitsky himself. We wait for the morning for events to be clearer. / What we know for sure from Lugansk—armed men and military vehicles present in the city today. There is a conflict between Plotnitsky and MIA head Kornet. Who is backing whom, who is in control of LPR just now, where Plotnitsky is—all unclear and contested matters.” [Reports will be added below as information comes in.]

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Click for VIDEO.

Standoff in LPR: Report on the situation in Lugansk / DONi News / November 21, 2017 / The volatile situation in Lugansk gave rise to rumours in the city about a military coup and the displacement of the current authorities of the Lugansk People’s Republic on Tuesday. The situation has been tense in the city-centre since the morning. The streets are flooded with armed men in military uniform with no insignia, and white bandages on their sleeves. There are also employees in the LPR Interior Ministry uniform – the OMON “Berkut” soldiers, BPS, SOBR. In the centre of the city there are several armoured personnel carriers, special buses and special transport of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The military ask civilians to refrain from passing through the cordoned off territories. Several governmental, educational, and office buildings have been emptied today. In addition, in the city there has been blocked Kotsyubinsky Street, as well as the streets adjacent to the Teatralnaya Square and the park of Heroes of the Great Patriotic War, where the administration of the Head of the Republic Igor Plotnitsky is located. Earlier today, the Centre for Public Relations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs explained this situation in the city as the conduct of planned exercises. At the same time, it became known that an anonymous person had reported on phone on an explosive device planted in the administration of the LPR Head, after which the building was checked, and all employees were evacuated. At the same time, the local TV channel GTRK Lugansk 24 informs that the streets were cordoned off at the order of the LPR Interior and personally by Igor Cornet, who had been dismissed from the post of the Interior Minister of the Republic on Monday, November 20. Standoff between power-wielding officials: Referring to different media sources, on the one hand, the views of the LPR Administration and the Head of the Republic are promoted, and, on the other hand, an overview on the position of the Interior Ministry as a whole is given. The situation has been difficult to summarize in a clear manner. On Tuesday afternoon, the Interior Ministry gave to the public a statement by the department’s former head Igor Kornet, saying that some agreement has been finally reached and standoff settled. In this statement, Kornet confirmed having returned to his position as a Minister of the Interior of the Lugansk People’s Republic. At the same time, he specified who was to blame for the misinformation, which had led to the current developments in the country, pointing to the individuals who had been involved in creating tense moods in the society by different tools, including the State TV and Radio Company which has recently started spreading shadowy rumours allegedly related to the activities of the Ministry and its Chief. Later on the day, the Head of the LPR, Igor Plotnitsky, presented his view of the situation, debunking the theses stated in Kornet’s address to the public, at that refusing the accusations put against several top officials. According to Plotnitsky . . . READ MORE>> [Substantial article at source. / Photo: Igor Plotnitsky (–DONi News)]

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LPR head Igor Plotnitsky, Interior Minister Igor Kornet

Ukrainian agents, corruption haunt situation in Lugansk – Popov / By Eduard Popov / Fort Russ / Translated by Jafe Arnold /
November 21, 2017 / Breaking news has been coming in from the capital of the Lugansk People’s Republic. Since this morning, the center of Lugansk has been swarmed by armed men in uniforms without insignia, and the administration building of the LPR has been blocked off. This operation, as it turns out, is connected to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Igor Kornet, who was supposedly dismissed on November 20th on the order of the head of the LPR, Igor Plotnitsky. Today, however, Kornet announced that he had in fact not left his pot and, moreover, that he had ordered the arrest of a number of senior officials. According to Kornet, last night he presented LPR head Igor Plotnitsky with materials exposing the involvement of a number of senior officials in “criminal activities detrimental to the republic and the people of the Lugansk region,” after which he ordered the arrests of the General Director of GTRK (State Television and Radio Company), Anastasia Shurkaeva, the head of Plotnitsky’s administration, Irina Teytsman, as well as the chief of government security under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Evgeniy Selivertsov. The arrested persons, according to Kornet, were working on Ukrainian instructions, the aim of this group and other Ukrainian agents of influence being eliminating power rivals and purging the republic’s leadership of those in favor of a decisive and uncompromising fight against Nazi Ukraine. Earlier today, I asked my contacts . . . READ MORE>>[Substantial commentary at source.]

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OSCE Reports on Lugansk / OSCE Facebook / November 21, 2017 / Today in Luhansk city the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission observed the presence of military-type vehicles and armed men in the area around the building previously housing the Department of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine in Luhansk region. Also, an SMM patrol observed convoy of vehicles consisting of at least six military style trucks, two APCs, a mounted ZU-23 and over 20 civilian cars without registration plates with at least 50 armed men on the road near Debaltseve (Donetsk region). A similar convoy, likely the same was observed later by a different SMM patrol in Vesela Tarasivka (15km west of Luhansk) moving in the direction of Luhansk city. The SMM will continue monitoring the situation. Relevant observations will be included in our daily reports available in three languages on the OSCE website. [See also http://www.osce.org/ukraine-smm/reports%5D

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DPR Army Retakes Grey Zone Territory / Quemado Institute / November 21, 2017 / Donbass expert and reliable Twitter source Enrico Ivanov tweeted today at 17:30 UTC: “#DNR army carried out a military operation east of Mariupol, 200 m of territory in the gray zone have been retaken,” with a link to the following report: Army of Donetsk People’s Republic Launches Offensive in Mariupol Direction / TopNewsRussia.ru / Translated by Quemado Institute / November 21, 2017 / The army of the Donetsk People’s Republic managed to advance and occupy a height of great strategic importance. This is stated in her blog by military correspondent Marina Kharkova, reports the correspondent of “Political Navigator”. In particular, the military commissar notes the fact of the advancement of the army of the Donetks People’s Republic in the Mariupol direction. “Our people advanced 180m ahead on the Donetsk front line,” she writes. This information was confirmed by another military procurator Alexander Sladkov: “But this is good. But! Again digging, digging … A little forward, and again digging, digging …” Military journalists explain that such a seemingly small success is of great importance. “Some people think that 200 meters ahead is not important. But I insist, it’s important. First, this is our land. Secondly, the hermitage – and our “skyscraper”. Third, we shoot down the targeted targets. Fourthly, this is more optimistic than standing still. There are fifth and sixth, but these considerations, like the place, are premature to mention,” Kharkova wrote. Quemado Institute comments: The real significance of this military action is that the DPR army is finally fighting again, rather than passively permitting the Ukrainian Armed Forces to shell civilians on the contact line.

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In Lugansk came a large column of military equipment (VIDEO) / Ruskaya Vesna / Autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 21, 2017 / Local residents filmed a video and published footage of the entrance to Lugansk of a large column of military equipment. According to eyewitnesses, the equipment moved along the New overpass in the 1st Microdistrict of the capital of the LNR. [Click image for video.]

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BREAKING: MVD LPR about the situation in the Republic and “statements by Plotnitsky” / Ruskaya Vesna / Autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 21, 2017 / As previously reported by the RV, on the site of the head of the Lugansk People’s Republic Igor Plotnitsky today appeared a statement about the situation in the Republic, contrary to the information stated in the official statement of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Igor Cornet. A letter from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Lugansk People’s Republic to the journalists of the republican and foreign media has just been sent to the editorial office of the “Russian Spring” [Ruskaya Vesna]. “Today, the republican and foreign media received an e-mail letter with Igor Plotnitsky’s alleged statement about the current situation in Lugansk. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Lugansk People’s Republic warns: this “statement” is not true. It was distributed by representatives of the destructive forces involved in the work on Ukrainian special services and oligarchic clans. These people, using their high official position, have access to a number of information resources through which allegedly false messages are sent on behalf of the Head of the LC [LPR]. In this case, I.V. Plotnitsky did not give them such powers and has nothing to do with these “statements.” We emphasize: these people are trying with all their might now to turn the situation in their favor and to step back from responsibility, covering themselves with the name of the Head. We remind you that at the disposal of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Lugansk People’s Republic and the MGB of the Lugansk People’s Republic, there are sufficient evidence against these persons. Assessing which, the Head of the Republic IV. Plotnitsky gave the sanction for the detention and a comprehensive investigation of the activities of these individuals. And this will be done.”

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Lugansk Gambit / Novaya Gazeta / Autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 21, 2017 / [Quemado Institute editor: the following report just came in. We are presenting the unedited Google autotranslation. Little in the report makes sense to us. We are seeking clarification.] / The head of the Interior Ministry of the self-proclaimed republic refused to resign, armed people appeared on the streets in formation. / In the morning on Tuesday in the center of Lugansk appeared groups of unknown people in military uniform from the “DNR” [Donetsk Peoples Republic or DPR]. They were armed with small arms and mortars. Igor Plotnitsky, the head of the self-proclaimed “Lugansk People’s Republic” (“LNR”), who was in the morning in the workplace, ordered them to liberate the city, but they ignored the order. The military blocked access to administrative buildings, employees of the government and the People’s Council were dismissed to their homes. According to Novaya Gazeta sources, three military “Ural” with soldiers from the Republican State Guard Service arrived in Luhansk from Donetsk, which reports to the head of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DNR”) Alexander Zakharchenko, updated 21:00L In Lugansk from the side of the “DNR” a column of several dozen “Ural” with the military just entered. Sources of “Novaya” confirm that the three “Ural” that appeared in the first half of the day are special forces “Vityaz” from “DNR”. Earlier, on November 20, the head of the LNR, Igor Plotnitsky, dismissed the head of the Interior Ministry of the self-proclaimed republic of Igor Cornet. This is the result of a protracted conflict, during which, for example, Cornet was accused at the meeting of the People’s Council of illegally living in a private house, despite numerous complaints from the owner. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, however, did not recognize his resignation, as was reported on Tuesday in a video message. According to Cornet, the MVD found in the leadership of the “LNR” cell “Ukrainian saboteurs”, and at the highest level. Among its participants were the director of the State Television and Radio Company “LNR” Anastasia Shurkaeva, the head of the administration of the head of the “LNR” Irina Teizman and the head of the government security service of the Ministry of Interior of the “LNR” Yevgeny Seliverstov. “The specified persons for a long time before the head of the” LNR “purposefully brought inaccurate information about the alleged involvement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in unlawful activities”, – said Cornet. He actually stated that he had been the victim of the spies on the part of Ukrainian spies. The head of the self-proclaimed republic, Igor Plotnitsky, in turn, posted an appeal on his website, according to which “the situation is a continuation of personnel changes in the lawful removal of the Minister of Internal Affairs from his post. The events of today have proved once again that the decision was made right.” According to Novaya Gazeta sources, the power units of the LNR, in particular the Ministry of State Security (MGB), the people’s militia and the military commandant’s office are not involved in the conflict between Plotnitsky and Cornet. An arrest of Anastasia Shurkaeva, director of the State Television and Radio Company “LNR”, has not been confirmed. But the GTRK itself stopped broadcasting. At the time of the signing of the Novaya Gazeta, it became known that some of the veterans of the military operations of 2014-2015, previously dismissed from the republic’s law enforcement agencies, are ready to support the actions of the Cornet. However, information about armed clashes has not yet been received.

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DONi News video channel banned from YouTube – DONiTV Announcement / DONi News / November 20, 2017 / The YouTube channel of the DONi Donbass News Agency has been closed allegedly due to ‘violations of many or serious types of spam, fraudulent activity, and misleading content or other YouTube practices.’ This is what they call truth now. The pictures of destroyed Donbass and voices of unfortunate residents make the West be afraid of its propaganda being further debunked. Now they call the truthful and objective coverage of the developments in the region ‘fraudulent activity.’ An Overton Window seems to have long been opened in the Western media, as they feel free to slander one of the only sources struggling for the truth to win. DONi News Facebook page was banned first, to say nothing of regular banning of its Chief Editor’s page, and now it is that censorship has reached YouTube channel with its hundreds of video’s and thousands of subscribers. “I have never heard of any official state channel closed before by the YouTube administration. But when our Facebook page was banned from the platform, what I know, it was also the first case of the kind,” the Chief Editor of the DONi Donbass News Agency and Press Centre, Janus Putkonen, comments on the actions of the YouTube officials. While bloody Ukrainian punishers boast of murdering Donbass civilians and marauding empty homes, we, DONi News Agency, have to face more and more unfair obstacles on our way to show the world the true side of the so-called ‘anti-terrorist operation’ which, in fact, is intended to exterminate the population of the region in favour of the greedy clique ruling the miserable state of Ukraine. Is this justice as the West sees it? “This is just disgusting Western censorship,” Putkonen says. The more truth is attempted, the more it springs up! No censorship will ever manage to stomp all the seedlings into the ground. And time will come for the West to admit its failure.

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Putin, Trump Discuss World Crises / Embassy of Russia on Facebook / November 21, 2017 / Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the US, who had arranged a telephone conversation, discussed the pressing aspects of the Syrian problem with accounts of the completing military operation against terrorists in Syria, the Kremlin press service said. “Putin stressed readiness to facilitate a durable political settlement process in Syria on the basis of the UN Security Council’s Resolution 2254 in the spirit of agreements reached in the Astana format and provisions of the Joint Statement the two Presidents endorsed on November 11 at the APEC summit in Vietnam,” the report said. “The sides stated among other things that the statement had produced an encouraging reaction in the Middle East,” it said. The interlocutors also mentioned the importance of maintaining Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. This should be done in the groundwork of principles to be mapped out in the course of pan-Syrian negotiations and Russia’s initiative for convening the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi later this year targets exactly this objective, it said. The presidents also discussed the situation around North Korea, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear program, the Kremlin press service reports. The sides “also exchanged opinions on the situation on the Korean peninsula, stressing the expedience of search for the settlement of the problem through negotiations, diplomatically,” the press service said in a report. “Speaking of a crisis situation in the southeast of Ukraine, the Russian president drew attention to the absence of a real alternative to unconditional compliance with the Minsk accords of February 12, 2015,” the report said. “The leaders touched upon the situation in Afghanistan, which raises concerns in view of growing terrorist and drug threats. They also discussed the situation around Iran’s nuclear program,” the report said. It said the Russian side emphasized commitment “to a full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – a major factor in ensuring regional stability and settlement of the problem of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction”.

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WATCH: Americans make secret trip to Donbass frontline / Fort Russ/ November 20, 2017 / A delegation of the US military spent several days at the forefront of the Ukrainian army to find out whether they need to allocate lethal weapons. Together with military attache Thomas Wofford, there were two more Americans with big stars on their shoulder straps. “Russian mercenaries were about 150 meters away. American colonels saw the militants with their very eyes. Their report can play a key role in the decision of the United States to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons. It seems that the American leadership is changing its passive attitude toward the war in the Donbass” it was stated. It is noted that the visit of Americans to the front line significantly raised the fighting spirit of the ATO fighters. Below is a Ukrainian television segment on the occurrence. [See VIDEO at source.]

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Sunday November 12, 2017
(Full Report)

Donetsk Defense: Situation Report, 11/12/2017 / DONi News / November 12, 2017 / The situation on the contact line remains tense. In the Donetsk direction, the enemy used various mortars, various grenade launchers, and small arms. 190 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres were launched on 13 localities and the surrounding areas. In the Mariupol direction, the enem applied 152-mm artillery against the locality of Kominternovo, having launched six ordnances. Besides, the areas of four localities were targeted with 96 mortar shells of 120-mm and 82-mm calibres. In the Gorlovka direction, the enemy attacke the localities of Zaitsevo and Dolomitnoye from different grenade launchers and small arms. In total, over the past 24 hours 43 violations of the ceasefire regime by the Ukrainian Armed Forces were recorded. The enemy does not stop the terror of civilians, continuing to shell settlements of our Republic. Feeling imaginary impunity, lieutenant colonel E. Mamedov (commander of the 4th division of the 40th separate airborne brigade) yesterday gave another criminal order to open fire from 152-mm artillery systems at residential areas of Kominternovo locality. At 16.40 Ukrainian punishes fired six artillery shells at Kominternovo. Fortunately, the victims were avoided among the population. It is important to note that the AFU’s artillery fire is adjusted using unmanned aerial vehicles. One of these was shot down by our servicemen yesterday in the vicinity of Peski settlement during mortar shelling from the positions of the 57 separate mechanised brigade at 16 o’clock with 82-mm mortars. It is noteworthy that immediately after the destruction of the UAV the bombardment ceased. I present to your attention the remains of an unmanned aerial vehicle, with the help of which the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted fire adjustment during the shelling of the DPR territory. We recall that the use of unmanned vehicles is prohibited by the Minsk agreements. But the Ukrainian party has long forgotten about their existence, which once again confirms the lack of interest in ending this fratricidal war. In addition, our reconnaissance marks the arrival at the Mariupol direction of the 501 separate marine corps battalion of the 36 separate marine brigade, presumably for the rotation of units of the 1st separate marine battalion. The 501 battalion, being in the so-called ‘ATO’ zone the previous time, showed itself in not the best light in terms of compliance with the Minsk agreements, as well as the commission of war crimes against civilians. At that, citizens of not only our Republic, but also of territories controlled by Ukraine suffered from these disaster-riflemen. One can at least recall the rape and murder of two girls in Pavlopol and the looting of liquor stores and stalls near Mariupol in the spring of this year, which were done by servicemen of the 501 battalion. Thus, the arrival of another batch of mental ‘warriors’ will only exacerbate an already difficult situation near the contact line in the Mariupol direction. —Vice-Commander of the DPR People’s Militia, Colonel Eduard Basurin, official translation by DONi News Agency

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Click for VIDEO.

Donbass, November 12th, 2017 (VIDEO) / Anna News / November 12, 2017 / The newscaster: Victoria Rakhmanina. / The observation post of the Joint Center for Control and Coordination of the ceasefire came into the zone of shelling by Ukrainian forces in the village Bezymennoe in the south of the DPR. The head of the representation of the Republic in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination Ruslan Yakubov reported. Representatives of the Centre were forced to descend into the bomb shelter,” he said. Yakubov noted that the Russian side, several times contacted the Ukrainian representatives with a request to introduce a “ceasefire regime”, but the shelling continued. Kiev disrupted the work of the OSCE on web camera maintenance in Shirokino. The observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission and the Joint Center for Control and Coordination could not go to Kominternovo or Sakhanka, because the Ukrainian Army opened fire on Kominternovo from mortars.” A civilian was blown up on an explosive device in the village Alexandrovka in the west of Donetsk. He had a leg injury. However, there was no possibility to evacuate the man immediately, because the Ukrainian forces opened sniper fire on the village. The United Nations experts believe that military actions in Donbass can lead to a chemical disaster in Ukraine. If the water supply infrastructure is damaged. Experts recalled that such facilities contain chlorine and other dangerous chemicals. The soldiers of the DPR shot down the Ukrainian air drone that was used to adjust the mortar fire near the village Peski in the northwestern outskirts of Donetsk, Eduard Basurin reported. The Armed Forces of Ukraine violated the ceasefire 43 times; it was reported in the operational command of the DPR. 19 settlements of the Republic were under the fire. They used artillery, mortars, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, grenade launchers and small arms. During the past day, Kiev forces shelled the positions of the People’s Militia of the LPR 11 times. Villages Frunze, Kalinovo, Logvinovo, Kalinovka, Dolgoe, Zhelobok, Sokolniki and the town Pervomaysk were subjected to fire. They used mortars, infantry fighting vehicles, grenade launchers and small arms.

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Click for VIDEO.

Breaking News, November 11th, 2017 (VIDEO) / Anna News / November 11, 2017 / During the past day the AFU shelled the positions of the People’s Militia of the LPR eight times. Kalinovo, Logvinovo, Kalinovka, and Kalinovo-Borshchevatoy were under enemy’s fire. In the DPR the AFU violated the ceasefire 57 times. 20 settlements of the Republic also got under fire. During the shelling artillery, mortars of various caliber, anti-tank guided missiles, APCs and IFVs, grenade launchers and small arms were used. The sources of the “Hayat Tahrir al-Sham” grouping report on the suicide bomber attack in Latakia in the Jabl area near the highway Khmeimim-Bustan al-Basha. Driving a mined car, the militant attacked a column of Russian troops. Sources of Russian-speaking militants report several deaths of Russian and Syrian servicemen. However, the representative of the Russian airbase Khmeimim denied these reports, saying that there were no attacks on Russian military in Latakia province in Syria. In the village of Shalasi (Dagestan), a gas explosion occurred in a private house. Four people were injured, including a child. Earlier it was reported that in the morning there was a gas explosion in Makhachkala in a public bathhouse. Today a large-scale joint exercises of the South Korean Navy and the US Navy began off the coast of the Korean peninsula,. Three Korean destroyers and four escort ships will take part in them. The exercises will last until November 14. They will involve three aircraft carrier strike groups of the US Navy, including the US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers Ronald Reagan, Nimitz and Theodore Roosevelt, as well as about 20 cruisers and destroyers and several nuclear submarines equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles. The security forces detained 24 members of the mafia clan Santapaola-Ercolano in Sicily. One of the detainees is probably Antonio Tomasello, the henchman of the head of the clan. Seven detainees have already been charged with illegal possession of weapons and racketeering. Arrested mafiosi acted on the territory of the city of Catania. The head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Klimkin said that Ukraine has agreed with the United States on the main provisions of the draft joint resolution on the introduction of peacekeepers in the Donbass. According to Klimkin, Germany, France and Great Britain also participated in developing the text of the resolution. He again stressed that there should not be Russians in the peacekeeping forces and that peacekeepers should take control of the Russian-Ukrainian border. Quemado Institute comments: If peacekeepers took control of the Russian-Ukrainian border, it would only prove to the West that no Russian troops or weapons are coming across into Donbass, and that Russia is therefore not involved in the conflict.

Donetsk. Walking around Pushkin boulevard with Chris, A trade-unionist from London (VIDEO).Gonzo Blogger – Youtube
Published May 10, 2017Click for video.Beautiful Donetsk, peaceful and relaxed despite the war.

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Censorship Looms Over European Union

Quemado Institute editor Karl Pomeroy received a legal threat today in response to a comment he posted on the Russia Insider website about the rise of the R********d banking family. The comment did not mention race, but was of historical content. The threatener accused Karl of “spreading Nazi propaganda,” then repeated the full text of the German Criminal Code Section 130, which outlaws inciting “hatred against a national, racial, religious group or a group defined by their ethnic origins,” which Karl’s comment did not do. A similar law, it was claimed, is now in force in 11 other European countries and carries a penalty of up to five years. The wording of the law is so vague, it could be applied to any criticism of those in power. If a political analyst can accidentally “violate” this totalitarian decree, there is no freedom of speech or press in Europe.